I’M A RIDER JO FARROW

The TV weather forecaster believes in utilitarian cycling – and uses a big stick to teach others how to ride

I always check the weather before I go out on the bike. My three [primary school age] girls all cycle independently to school, and I tell them, “You will need your waterproofs today” or “You will have to take your gloves”. They used to pull faces but now, most of the time, they respect that I know what I’m talking about, that I am actually a weather forecaster! When they were younger and I’d pick them up from school on my own bike, I’d always be the one with the waterproof trousers on. Everyone else would just stare and make comments, but I would say, “Yeah, and? Look at you, you’re all drenched”.

Wind is the most important weather consideration for cyclists. Yet unbelievably, when the BBC changed to new graphics for its weather maps about 11 years ago, it said we didn’t need to show the wind strength or direction. The forecasters were like, “You’ve got to be joking!” So wind is back on.

I’ve ridden a bike since the age of five. I was the eldest of three and we always cycled to school or were out imagining we were characters from [’70s TV series] The Red Hand Gang, who all had Chopper-type bikes with tassels on the handlebars. I’ve ridden a tandem, which was exciting, although I did fall off because the person behind wasn’t very good.

I like the idea of utilitarian cycling. When I was at university [studying Geophysical Sciences] in Norwich, all the students cycled. When I got a job in London and worked at ITV, I’d ride along the Thames. It would make me feel better starting the day with a bike ride. Sometimes I’d do the overnight shift, and be going home when other people were going to work, but it was great not having to deal with all the aggro of getting in a car and driving.

I once took a dressmaking evening class and used to cycle there with my little sewing machine in the basket. Nowadays I have panniers on my Python Paragon [18-speed hybrid], and use it for runs to the supermarket. I cycle to the train station when I’m doing shifts at STV in Edinburgh.

The cycling infrastructure was a draw to moving to where I live now. For example, the layout of the school in Dunbar, East Lothian, was designed to discourage driving - there are pathways and wide pavements that lead to it rather than roads, so my girls have a safe 15-minute ride to school. The area also has regular “Kidical” Mass rides – the child’s version of Critical Mass events. It gives kids and their parents the chance to discover safe routes away from busy, main roads. I’ve had experience of close shaves with drivers and it’s not very nice, so this is a great idea.

I’m a Guide leader and teach Brownies and Guides how to cycle. The Guides are really important to me, because I was a 12-year-old Guide when I got my Weatherman’s Badge. Yes, Weatherman’s! With some girls, if they can’t cycle by the time they are eight or nine, they become too self-conscious to ever do it. If you can catch them before then, it’s like giving them a gift, you’re giving them the independence to be able to jump on a bike and go off on their own.

When I’m teaching kids how to cycle, I’m never without my trusty piece of dowelling. It’s a trick I learned from a farmer friend. Instead of bending down and breaking your back trying to hold on to a child on their bike, you take something like an old broom handle and wedge it under the saddle. So I have this piece of dowelling and I run along with them keeping them stable and upright so they can concentrate on steering.

Jo is a weather forecaster for STV and Netweather.tv

With some girls, if they can’t cycle by the time they are eight or nine, they become too self-conscious