VICTORIA -- The City of Langford has announced that an upcoming bike park will be named after world-renowned Vancouver Island mountain biker Jordie Lunn, who died in 2019 after a riding accident in Mexico.
The city says it is naming the new bike park after Lunn in memory of his impact on both the local and international cycling scenes. Lunn was an advocate for cycling and often acted as a coach and mentor for up-and-coming young riders.
"As a resident of the City of Langford, Jordie was a larger-than-life character who had a significant impact on the global cycling community," said Wheelhouse Cycling Society, a partner in the construction of the new bike park.
"Lunn shared his passion for the sport with kids as a coach and with his neighborhood by building bike parks and coaching camps [and]clinics," said the society. "He was an ambassador for extreme mountain biking on the island, helping to organize events in the area that attracted professional riders from around the world."
According to the city, the new bike park will offer approximately three kilometres of cyclocross course trail, a pump track that can accommodate both beginner and intermediate riders, three sections of bike jumps that range from beginner to expert difficulties and a bike skills area for beginners.
Additionally, the Jordie Lunn Bike Park will include a clubhouse for Wheelhouse Cycling Society, which will provide a meeting space, washrooms, showers, bike wash stations and storage areas.
The new park will be will be an addition to the existing Irwin Ponds Park, located on Irwin Road, and connect to the existing multi-use trail system used by pedestrians and dog-walkers.
"As a family, we would be honoured and thrilled to participate in this project and have the 'Irwin Ponds Bike Park' named in Jordie’s memory," said the Lunn Family in a statement.
"We trust the community will embrace this idea. Our commitment is to provide a legacy in Jordie’s name for children and youth to be safe, active and enjoy building their biking skills in multiple disciplines of cycling."
