Muddbunnie riding a Cypress trail, but not Coiler
WEST VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A middle-aged man is dead after a mountain biking accident in West Vancouver this afternoon.
Police Cst. Tammy Khorram says police were called just after two o’clock.
“We’re currently on scene, off road, near the 10 km mark at Cypress Bowl Road,” she explains. “Our preliminary investigation indicates that the mountain biking accident isn’t considered to be suspicious at this time, but more a case of a (tragic) misadventure.”
Khorram says the rider was on a trail with several other people when the accident occurred. She adds that it’s not yet known if he was wearing a helmet when he crashed.
Cam McRae is the editor of on-line magazine North Shore Mountain Biking and says the trails on Cypress are known as the most challenging of the three North Shore mountains.
“It’s quite steep and rocky and there aren’t any intermediate trails, most of the trails are quite advanced,” he says.
McRae is shocked and surprised by the death, adding the trail on which the rider is believed to have died – Coiler – was not one of the more difficult ones.
“It’s one of the less challenging trails, which makes me think it must have been some sort of freak accident which could have happened anywhere, but that’s just speculation at this point, ” he says.
He says generally, riders on Cypress wear full face helmets, at least knee and arms pads – and upper body armour as well. Some even wear neck braces.
McCrae says it’d be slippery with lots of mud right now because of the late snow pack and the wet weather.
He says certainly, wipeouts are common on the North Shore.
“But one of the things people don’t realize about the riding up here is it’s so technical, you don’t have a lot of speed. And generally, when you have serious injuries in mountain biking, it’s because of speed,” he says.
McCrae says while there are a lot of crashes, it’s the kind where you dust yourself off and keep going.
The man’s identity has not been revealed.
Our thoughts are with the riders friends and family on this sad day. Ride safely and with a friend whenever possible.
