New Vancouver Island bike park honours late B.C. mountain biker Jordie Lunn

B.C. mountain biker Jordie Lunn's memory lives on through a new bike park named in his honour.

It was officially unveiled Tuesday morning. 

Lunn, known worldwide for his trick mountain bike riding, was in Mexico in 2019 filming a web series when he suffered a fatal head injury while trail riding with friends. He was 36. 

The Jordie Lunn Bike Park, in Langford, B.C., is a year-round cycling space for recreation and high performance training. It also offers sports development opportunities for schools and sports teams.

The park, a collaboration between the City of Langford, developer Westhills Land Corp., the Lunn family, trail builders and volunteers. It is free to the public, and is designed to be accessible to cyclists of all ages and abilities. It opened up for use in May, which according to the park's website, was a "huge success" — kids were on site as early as 6:30 a.m. opening day. 

Lunn's mother, Bonnie Lunn, said she knows her son would have loved the park.

"He would have been beyond happy," she said.  "That's all he wanted, was for children and youth to have a safe place to cycle and practise their skills. He would have been out there 12 hours a day, I'm sure."

She said as a kid, he cycled in his yard where built jumps, making them bigger over time. 

The property on which the park sits on has been unused for 25 years. Langford mayor Stew Young said it was important to use the space to honour people like Lunn.

"We couldn't have picked a more fitting tribute to Jordie Lunn," he said during his speech at the opening.

Ryan McKenzie, manager of Westhills Land Corp., said he has been looking for the right amenity to put in the space for 15 years. He said he donated a "few extra acres" to enhance the park.

"Standing here and and looking at what's been accomplished, I am just truly blown away by this facility. It has far surpassed my expectations," he said.

All the trees cleared from the space to make the park were used to build the facilities, according to Langford City Manager Darren Kiedyk. Additionally, more than 1,200 native species of plants were added to the area to maintain the lush forest around the park.

Tommy Cunningham, who is in grade four, thanked everyone for bringing the project to life, including the security guard who chased him out of the park at night. 

"Try having this next to your house for a year and not riding it," he said. "My sister and I love riding the park and Jordie is one of my biggest heroes, and I think he would be very proud of what we've accomplished here."