Defining the Ineffable with Jen Malik
Endless freedom.
Jen Malik wears many hats.
Cyclist. Runner. Farmer. Data scientist. NICA director. Fiancée. Ph.D doc. Cat, dog, bee, chicken, tortoise, snake and fish mom. We’ll touch on most of her “hats” in this post, but we’ll focus mainly on her “cyclist” hat in this post. Because this is a newsletter about cycling.
Anyway. I had the chance to catch up with Malik after the Black Fork Gravel Grinder on May 6. We talked about the climbs, her win and then about a bunch of other related stuff.
For context, though, let’s take a look at Malik’s race history. Let’s start at the BFGG, the first of eight races that are part of the Ohio Gravel Race Series. If you win a race, you get 1,000 points. The person with the most points at the end of the season wins.
Malik, a 2018 U.S. Nationals Cyclocross collegiate champion, first raced BFGG in 2021. She got second place with a time of 3:30:34.2, behind Emily Leonard’s 3:23:51.7 — which is a BFGG course record for the women.
To give you some perspective, my time that day was 2 hours and 50 minutes. But I did the 30-mile route. She did the 54-mile route. So yeah. She’s fast.
As I alluded, she raced cyclocross through graduate school at The Ohio State from 2014-18. (Go Buckeyes.) Her first year competing in the U.S. National championship for cyclocross, she placed 11th. The next year: 6th. Then 3rd. Then 1st.
At one point, Malik’s goal for herself was to earn a spot on Team USA’s cyclocross team. There are eight spots on the team. In 2018, after earning a U.S. National title, Malik sat at 15th in the country.
Since then, however, she said her goals have shifted a bit. For instance, she got mixed up with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, a nonprofit that promotes youth involvement in mountain biking. (Not a bad thing to get mixed up in.) She ended up becoming Ohio’s first director when NICA launched a league in Ohio in 2021. I actually first talked to her about it back then.
“I love cycling, but I don’t think so,” when I asked if she still wants to get on Team USA’s cyclocross team. “Being NICA league director wouldn’t be possible. I’m not willing to give that up.”
She’ll continue racing though. Someday, she told me, she’d still like to get on the podium in the master’s group.
So. The point I was trying to make before getting into her race recap of BFGG was to show you all that she’s a frikin’ great rider.
Going into the Ohio Gravel Race Series event, she said she felt a little nervous.
I was a bit surprised by this answer, especially given the fact she won (3:24:45.1) and only missed the course record by under a minute.
“Yeah, I had tight legs all week. I just wasn’t feeling super fresh. That first climb, it’s a gut punch. I can usually ride strong and make a gap on that climb. There was another strong woman who is a really strong climber. And part of me was like, ‘This is great, more strong women riders! But, oh my God, am I going to get dropped on the first climb?!’”
Malik said her opponent stuck with her through most of the climb. And then, at the hairpin turn (you know it if you’ve ridden it), her opponent had to get off the bike.
“It gets pretty chunky through there. I don’t know what happened but she had to get off and start walking. So I took the opportunity to keep digging and driving. Also, I wanted to secure Queen of the Mountain. And after that, I didn’t really see anyone.”
Starting this year, though, her effort during the race meant a bit more. One of the race organizers, Jay Clipse, reached out to her earlier in the year to set up a fundraiser for the Ohio Mountain Bike League, the NICA-sanctioned group Malik directs.
“He basically said ‘your goals align with our in the gravel community. We want to help kids get on bikes and bring diversity to the sport.’ So he offered to do a silent auction sort of thing for a scholarship to riders,” she said.
The auction included a Lauf Seigla gravel bike (one for men and another for women), a 1Up Double bike rack and an American Independent Racing carbon wheelset. In all, the auction raised $2,433 for OMBL. That’s pretty cool.
The money is deeply appreciated, Malik said. The Ohio NICA league is still in its infancy, with 13 teams across the state and up to 275 athletes involved. The league is mostly run by volunteers. (She gets a small stipend.)
“So we’ll take the help wherever we can get it,” Malik said, adding the money from the BFGG auction will help cover race entry fees for new student athletes.
Gotta stop here for a minute to give a plug to Ohio’s NICA league. If you don’t know what that is … it’s essentially a mountain bike team for middle and high school students. Check it out. It’s awesome and the people making it happen are pretty great.
Running NICA has been a challenge, Malik said. At the season’s highpoint, Malik says she works around 40 hours a week on NICA stuff. She gets a stipend, but it’s not much. Like, for real. It’s almost nothing.
“I love the job. I don’t see giving that up. But I would love to build NICA into nonprofit that could hire someone to work 40 hours a week to make it easier and better for kids on bikes,” she said.
The time she puts into NICA is in addition to her full-time gig as a data scientist at Batelle, a “global research and development organization committed to science and technology for the greater good.” (That’s what their website says.)
Malik works in the company’s national security division designing computer models that can analyze threats and potential attacks to the U.S. That data is then used to inform research and policy.
Before that, she earned her Ph.D in biomedical engineering, with a goal to eliminate the need for kids to need Eustachian ear tubes.
“I chose biomedical engineering because it took an engineering approach to improving the health of people, but I’m still able to make society better. It’s fun because I get to do work that impacts the safety of our nation in a positive way,” she said of her job at Batelle.
Well said.
And Jen, thanks so much for taking time out of your insanely busy schedule to talk to a cycopath like me. Really appreciate it. Here’s the rest of our conversation in Q&A format.
PROFILE
Jen Malik
Age: 32
Lives in: Columbus, near Chestnut Ridge metro park.
Family: Fiance, Chris. Pets: 2 dogs, 3 cats, 19 chickens, a tortoise, a snake, some bees and a goby fish named “Goby-wan Kenobi.”
Occupation: Data scientist
Favorite food: Potatoes and avocados.
Favorite pre-race song: “Rock Lobster” by the B-52s.
Find her on: Instagram.
So, like, dOoD you’re busy. How do you juggle it all?
I have the most amazing support system anyone could ask for. At work, when I ask to work remotely from Europe so I can race, to at home. My partner Chris … I mean, I’m gone for weekends. We have a mini farm at home, so he stays home. My coach, Chris McGovern, he’s supportive of anything I say I want to do. Even if it sounds crazy. And all my friends — I’m just very lucky.
What has been the most fulfilling part of being leagues director?
Honestly, it’s getting to see the kids in the first year and now in year 3 — seeing them at NICA, but then at other events happening in Ohio. I love the fact that we have more kids racing, and there are more opportunities for kids to race now. Outside of NICA, there are places like the Northern Ohio Mountain Bike Series that has a junior focus. You have all these kids that are riding, and still riding bikes outside of NICA events. And that’s what it’s all about, you know? Like, it’s happening, we’re seeing a culture. We’re building this lifelong love of cycling.
Earliest memory of riding a bike?
It was in my Michigan childhood home, I think I was being stubborn or something. I remember riding down the hill of our driveway. And when I say “hill” I mean it was like a false flat. It wasn’t a hill. And I was fairly new. But I hit a tree at the base of our driveway. That was my first MTB scar.
I also remember riding in high school. I’d ride my bike to a friend’s house who lived in another neighborhood. I had a purple Walmart bike. We’d ride to the top of the cul-de-sac and see how fast we could race down the hill.
What bikes do you own currently?
MTBs:
Pivot Les, turned into SS
Pivot 429 SL
Pivot Switchblade
Custom Rock Lobster (dirt jumper)
Others:
All City Nature Boy (commuter)
2 Specialized Cruxes (CX)
Custom SS Cross bike built by Chris McGovern
Marco Alladia: one of his older road bikes (used as a crit bike)
Specialized Tarmac (bought just yesterday for the road)
Cervelo Aspero (gravel bike)
Oh, and I have a second dirt jumper, but I gifted it to my fiancé. So I don’t count that as mine anymore.
How often do you train per week?
It depends on what block of training I’m on. This week, it’s just super easy 1-hour spins. So I only have 5 hours so far this week.
In pique training, though, I’ll have anywhere from 10 to 15 hours. At LGS training camp I had 18 hours a week.
I’m also running 3 to 4 hours a week.
*Malik tells me she also works a hybrid schedule at work, where she’s able to work from home three days a week. Note to cycopaths who want to ride more: find a hybrid work schedule.
What is the ideal ride for you?
Ooooh, that’s tough.
You know, I love riding wet roots and rocks on the mountain bike trail. Being cold and wet is rough sometimes, but finding a section that is full of technical rocks and roots that are wet, and then committing to a line? I love the puzzle aspect of that.
A close second would be any type of bikepacking trip with friends. That’s one time I really get to be on my bike and socializing with no urgency to be anywhere.
Favorite trail system to ride in Ohio?
Mohican.
Describe the joys of riding a bike.
It’s freedom. You can go see so many new places, learn new things. Every time I get on the bike, even if just chilling with friends, I learn about myself. Especially after racing the BFGG, I learned I can push through tough times.
Riding is just endless freedom.
Thanks for reading today, fellow cycopaths. And to all the mothers out there, even the ones who are mothers to animals or children who aren’t “yours,” happy Mother’s Day. Real talk: we appreciate and respect you all on a deep level.
Now, go ride your bikes.
A beautiful story on a beautiful person enjoying a fabulous life!
I've heard the name for several years. I've seen her standing on podiums. Thanks for bringing her to life for those of us who haven't had the pleasure of meeting her.