‘Bjorn Riley has always lived between two worlds. On the bike, he’s precise, methodical, and relentless—traits that earned him a spot on the Scott-SRAM MTB Racing Team in his very first year as an Elite. Off the bike, he’s an artist who thrives on chaos, color, and texture—creating work that’s playful, messy, and free from expectation.
That contrast is the heart of Dual Lines. Where racing demands structure and perfection, painting offers Bjorn the opposite: a space without rules, without judgment, where process matters more than outcome.
That’s why Bjorn chose Crested Butte for his summer break from the World Cup circuit. He grew up riding and camping in those mountains, and at 11,300 feet, it still feels like the place that defined him. Setting up his canvas in the dirt, he paints outside in the elements—plein air, with the same raw, unpredictable energy that is imbued in his riding.
Bjorn discovered art alongside racing, spending hours in high school darkrooms and sketching while also riding in NICA, the U.S. youth mountain bike league. When he moved to Austria for his first year on Trek Future Racing, living alone in a town of 2000 people, he turned to his sketchbook to stay grounded. “I found how much I leaned on art to make sure I didn’t go insane when I was alone,” he says. Over time, his style evolved from structured realism to a more abstract, expressive approach, mirroring the balance between the discipline of racing and the freedom he finds in creation.
On the canvas, he starts with a loose plan but lets the process guide him—colors, lines, and figures often end up somewhere unexpected. “I never really know what it’s going to look like until it works,” he says. On the bike, every motion and routine is deliberate—warmups, line choices, pacing—all executed with precision. Living and racing in Europe forced him to reconcile the two worlds: maintaining the strict focus needed to perform at the highest level while keeping the playful, experimental mindset that shapes his art.
This weekend in Lake Placid, New York, Bjorn will be joined by fellow American racers—Christopher Blevins, Haley Batten, Gwendalyn Gibson, Madigan Munro, Riley Amos, Savilia Blunk, and Kate Courtney—representing the first generation of riders to move from NICA to the World Cup stage. In partnership with RockShox and NICA, Bjorn has turned the artwork he created over his summer break in Crested Butte into a limited-edition merch collection that supports NICA programs.
From the high peaks of the Rockies to the World Cup stage, Bjorn’s story is one of duality: the precision of a racer, the freedom of an artist, and the quiet moments in between where the two meet. Standing out can feel intimidating, but Bjorn’s approach is simple—trust your instincts, embrace what makes you different, and the results will follow.’ – RockShox
