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By Mark Alker

It was as I was driving home after the Dalby Forest round of the XC world cup in 2011 that I had my first falling out with Jenn. It was notable in that it lead to us offering her a job. She berated us on Twitter for not fully covering the women’s racing – a point I disagreed with – but it was from that ‘debate’ that it became clear to me that could really make use of her unique strength of argument and drive at Singletrack.

Our modus operandi from 2001 has always been one of barely organised chaos. Somehow we have always managed to get the magazine done and off to the printer at least within a day or two of the actual deadline. We’ve used the same printer for 15 years and they have come to know us very well. When we set a print deadline they take that date and add a couple of days to it when scheduling the job on their vast printers. In terms of actual method and work processes though, we’ve winged pretty much every issue. Every issue up until the first issue that Jenn was involved in that is.

Jenn did things. And by that I mean that if she saw a job that needed doing she just got on and did it. Sometimes that was the job that you were meant to be doing yourself. If she had to do it for you then you better expect that she was going to let you know about it. Coming into an organisation built on a decade of disorganisation with an organised attitude of getting things done was not easy. Not easy for Jenn and not easy for anyone who fell short of her expectations. She was a workaholic and she changed things.

Changing the direction of a publishing company with a decade of momentum behind it is was no easy job and certainly not a quick one. But change it she did. The first thing that ended was weekend deadlines. Not that we set them at the weekend but simply being so late with copy that the standard Thursday deadline morphed into a weekend. That was a big deal.

Then around two years ago Jenn and I began to discuss things using terminology like, ‘workflow’, and ‘flow chart’. More recently we even exchanged sentences containing ‘Gannt chart’. Now we have a database driven approach to everything from commissioning ideas to paying contributors. We even have a database that logs every item of kit that comes into the office.

In the latter months of her struggle with cancer she has not been as instrumental in the implementation or the final shape of these systems but what she has been and always will be is the inspiration and the catalyst for the changes that have lead us to where we are now. That place is further from the where we started than I would ever have been able to imagine back in 2001 and in that regard Jenn’s legacy lives on not only in everything that Singletrack currently does but also in everything that we will do in the future.

RIP Jenn and thanks for everything you have added to what Singletrack has become.

Jenn’s funeral is today. The Singletrack office is now closed and we’ve all gone out to ride bikes. If you get the opportunity to ride then take it. See you all tomorrow.

Mark Alker

Singletrack Owner/Publisher

What Mark doesn’t know about social media isn’t worth knowing and his ability to balance “The Stack” is bested only by his agility on a snowboard. Graphs are what gets his engine revving, at least they would if his car wasn’t electric, and data is what you’ll find him poring over in the office. Mark enjoys good whisky, sci-fi and the latest Apple gadget, he is also the best boss in the world (Yes, he is paying me to write this).

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