During last nights showing of his film, Unknown Country, you wouldn’t know mountain bike, cyclocross and gravel racer, cycling coach and trainer Jake Wells was just off a plane from Washington State having successfully defended his title as Masters Men 40-44 Singlespeed Champion.

During the fundraiser for the New England High School Cycling Association (NEHSCA), he shared his inspirational journey to the Dirty Kanza XL – a 350-mile self-supported gravel bike race and the challenges he faced along the way.

In a Q&A afterward, Jake shared how his goal “to inspire and motivate” helped him push through challenges, and his philosophy that each of us deserves a life that is fulfilled, and to do that, we should lean into the things we fear, rather than staying in our comfort zone.

A shout out to everyone who took time out of a hectic holiday season to attend, to NEHSCA Board Member Chip Baker for pulling it all together, to Rasputitsa for the tickets to give away in our raffle, the Wild Ones and Hale for hosting and, of course, to Jake and his sponsors – Scott, Shimano, Stan’s No Tubes – for joining us.

There is no question we all left inspired and motivated to lean into our next adventure!