October 9, 2007 (Vancouver, BC) – Richard Juryn, a major figure in West Coast mountain biking, died with Denis Fontaine in a kayak accident near Vancouver on Sunday as reported on CBC. An experienced kayaker, Juryn joined a party of seven other kayakers in four double kayaks for a morning paddle from Porteau Cove to Anvil Island in Howe Sound. Howe Sound is a large inlet (fjord) northwest of Vancouver along the route to Squamish and Whistler.

On their way back to Porteau Cove, a squall hit with (seven-foot) high swells and winds gusting up to 85 kilometres an hour. One of the kayaks capsized, throwing Fontaine and his girlfriend into the water. Juryn and his partner, Graham Tutti, rescued Fontaine while another kayak rescued Fontaine’s girlfriend. But Juryn’s overloaded kayak capsized dumping all three men into the frigid seawater. Coast guard officials found Juryn and Fontaine about an hour later floating unconscious in the water but the two men died shortly afterward in hospital while Tutti is listed in critical condition. Fontaine’s girlfriend reportedly suffered only mild hypothermia.

Officer Marc Proulx of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria noted that the men were inappropriately dressed, only wearing light nylon shells and no wetsuits, according the Vancouver Province.

Juryn, 50, was married with two teenaged children. A master’s expert in cross-country mountain bike racing, he ran his own business, Shore Events, from home. He was involved with major mountain biking events in BC including Crankworx and the Whistler Mountain Bike Festival. He also pioneered the World Mountain Bike Conference and was the organizer of the 2006 IMBA Summit/World Mountain Bike Conference, a global gathering of mountain bike advocates, trailbuilders, land managers, tourism professionals, ski resort managers and members of the bike industry in Whistler.

Fontaine, 40, was a sales rep with Merrill Apparel. Click here for the report in the Victoria Times Colonist.

Pedal joins the cycling community across Canada in extending condolences to the families and friends.