Introducing Lee Roy Brown
Today we are excited to welcome Lee Roy Brown to our Sponsored Riders team. Lee Roy is an experienced downhill rider who co-starred in our Cassidy: Peak to Pint Throwdown video. A longtime resident of British Columbia, Lee Roy is a talented rider with plenty of stories to share, and we look forward to telling them here! Get to know Lee Roy in our interview below and give him a follow on Instagram (@leeroybrown85).
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SALSA – Please tell us a bit about yourself, your upbringing, and where you live now?
LRB – I was born and raised in Ontario. My mom worked for the Ontario Provincial Police, so we moved around quite a bit before settling in North Bay for my teenage years. She wasn’t into biking, but she saw how much I loved it and was my biggest supporter. She’d spend weekends driving me to races and working hard to help me with equipment and gear. I’m an only child, but I have a big extended family, and always cousins to cruise on bikes with.
In 2004 I moved to Nelson, BC to ride real mountains. Fast-forward to 2015, I met a girl who would become my partner in crime and I moved to Invermere, BC. We have a small acreage filled with animals that keeps me busy. My grown-up job is at a rad company, Kicking Horse Coffee, wrenching on coffee roasters and packaging machines.
SALSA – What was your path into cycling?
LRB – I was born to be on two wheels. My mom’s work took us to various posts in northern Ontario. Every city we lived in, I would go out and pedal all the streets. We ended up in North Bay for my teen years and that’s when I was exposed to these amazing new freeride and downhill race movies. I would watch all of these pros religiously and then go and try for myself, spending hours and hours hitting jumps, drops, stairs, and roofs! I was that annoying kid spending countless hours in Cheapskates, gawking at all the amazing high-end bikes (disc brakes were pretty mind blowing to me at the time). I finished high school and made the decision that I was moving to BC to ride my bike. A buddy at the time had spent a few summers in Nelson, and we had planned to go together in summer 2004, but he couldn’t make the trip. So eager 18-year-old me, who had never left Ontario, bought a one-way ticket to Nelson, and the rest is history.
Moving to BC was an eye-opening experience. I was in awe of the beauty, size, and how green the mountains were in the west Kootenay. I got a job working at The Sacred Ride, and life consisted of repairing and riding bikes by day, and living like a rockstar by night. Since moving to Invermere, the party-boy lifestyle gave way to becoming a semi-high-functioning adult. I did a few races, some funduros, and travelled around BC to ride, and have been really stoked to collaborate on videos and projects.
SALSA – Can you share a bit on the how, when and where that your cycling skills really progressed?
LRB – Riding bikes every single day as a kid—rain or shine, sun or snow—and watching videos, then trying to replicate those skills. Racing some Ontario Cup DH races as a kid was bit of an eye opener to just how fast and aggressive riding could be. If I wasn’t racing, I was jumping, skidding, or doing speed wheelies. Moving to Nelson was a game changer for progressing my skills. All of a sudden I was riding big, steep, and long downhill single track trails littered with stunts, drops, and features that made the Ontario riding and “hills” seem so small and dinky in comparison.
SALSA – How would you describe your riding style?
LRB – Flowy, smooth, fast, and always keeping my eyes peeled for that inside line.
SALSA – Imagine we are in a post-COVID world, you’ve got three days off work and a stellar weather pattern has taken hold. What’s your plan?
LRB – Only three days? Haha. I’ve been craving some heli-drop action lately so I think it’d be fun to head over to the west Kootenay and hit up Mark Holt’s classic line “The Paper Bag” to a Heli pickup at Troop Beach and getting bumped up to the top of Mt. Solid and then shred down the “Burn and Beyond” which links into “Upper Hitman” to “Hitman” and flows all the way down to Kootenay Lake where beers, burgers and a bonfire will Await! The remaining few days would be spent hitting up other old classic lines and exploring new trails that have popped up since I moved from the area.
SALSA – There’s been a huge uptick in new cyclists lately. What is your message to them about the possibilities that the bike offers for their lives?
LRB – First and foremost is to have fun out there—that’s what it’s all about. No matter your discipline, riding level, or where and what you’re riding, just have fun! The possibilities truly are endless on the bicycle, from the adventures and places it can take you, to the mental and physical challenges you can push to and overcome.
Cycling is such a supportive community, don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice.
SALSA – Gelato or ice cream? Poutine or French fries? Brussels sprouts or cranberries?
LRB –Maple walnut ice cream! Poutine, duh! Brussels sprouts with garlic and butter and bacon.
SALSA – Any additional thoughts to all the folks out there reading this?
LRB – Thanks for making it this far into my bio.
SALSA – Where can folks follow you on social media?
LRB – Gram: @leeroybrown85
Book: Lee Roy Brown
Not a Tweeter
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