Jake Wells: Cycling Gave Him Community, Now He’s Giving Back
Multiple-time U.S. cyclocross national champion Jake Wells’ cycling career spans cyclocross, cross-country mountain and gravel biking, and some of the nation’s toughest endurance events — including the 200-mile Unbound Gravel and the Leadville 100.
Now 47, Wells is focused on giving back to the cycling community through coaching, gravel camps and the annual Bighorn Gravel (June) and Road (September) cycling events in Gypsum.
Photo courtesy of Jake Wells
A personal trainer, Wells opened his own fitness studio, FORM Attainment Studio, in Edwards in 2013, where he single-handedly offered personal training, coaching and bike fitting. The studio moved to a new and bigger space in Avon in October 2025, allowing room for additional trainers — with a variety of sport backgrounds — as well as bike classes.
“Everything is one-on-one,” Wells explains. “There’s not a membership — bike classes aside, you’re booking time with a trainer or coach. I think people really appreciate that.”
Wells co-founded the Bighorn Gravel and Road events with fellow cyclist Mike Brumbaugh. The two wanted to spotlight the trails and terrain around Gypsum that even some of the locals had not yet explored, but also “to stretch participants and push them in a way that is going to challenge them, but in a way that they felt supported enough to say ‘yes.’”
Wells knows first-hand how endurance events provide a unique opportunity for growth.
“I think what’s really valuable about endurance sport is it teaches you about yourself,” Wells says. “It teaches you how to persevere, how to figure it out on the fly and lean on your fellow competitors for support and knowledge. That’s probably the best way to navigate through life.”
“Jake wants to inspire people to go beyond what they think is possible for themselves,” says his wife, Linda. “He’s incredibly passionate about cycling as an avenue to find confidence and freedom and adventure — and find that limit in yourself.”
Originally published in the summer 2026 issue of Spoke+Blossom.