'He spent his whole life on two wheels': Friends, family mourn death of B.C. mountain biker Jordie Lunn
Renowned rider, coach and trail builder on Vancouver Island died on trail in Mexico
Friends and family say B.C. mountain biker Jordie Lunn was doing what he loved when he died Wednesday.
Lunn, who was world renowned for his trick mountain bike riding, was in Baja, Mexico, filming a web series. He was trail riding with friends when he suffered a fatal head injury. He was 36.
Lifelong friend Darren Berrecloth was with him.
"We were having a great day. Riding bikes, laughing, giggling," says Berrecloth. "It's better he died riding his bike than in a plane crash or something horrible like that."
Jordie Lunn grew up in Parksville, B.C., where he started BMX riding as a child. That soon turned to mountain biking, in which he competed internationally.
Eventually, Lunn took up trick riding. He performed incredible feats on ramps and trails built in the forests of Vancouver Island.
Jarrett Lunn says his older brother loved mountain biking.
"He spent his whole life on two wheels," he said. "If he wasn't riding his bike, he was out with a shovel and a rake, building, just spending time in the forest."
Lunn built mountain- and dirt-biking trails around the Island, together with his father and brothers, and a crew of friends. Among his accomplishments were the downhill biking trails at Bear Mountain Resort near Victoria.
"He was responsible for building some of the most epic downhill trails that our festival uses every year," said Jon Watkin, the director of the Bear Mountain Bike Festival.
Friends and family say he will be remembered for his warmth and openness.
"From the outside you looked at him, he had all the tattoos, he looked like a big scary dude," says Berrecloth. "But he was actually the opposite. He was the biggest teddy bear on the planet."