Canmore adventure cyclist and writer Correy dead at age 35
Accomplished Canmore adventure cyclist Ryan Correy has died after a nine-month battle with cancer.
His wife, Sarah, wrote in a social media post that Correy died last Friday “surrounded and embraced by family.” A celebration of life “befitting of the true champion that he was” will be held, she said, with details yet to be finalized.
Correy, 35, was an inspiration to thousands through his athleticism, charity work, writing and later in sharing his battle with cancer.
His passion for cycling and outdoor adventure led to the founding of Bikepack Canada, an organization dedicated to the pursuit of cycling, backpacking and camping.
Correy published his first book, A Purpose Ridden, in 2015. Following a colon cancer diagnosis last summer, he updated and rereleased the book with the addition of an afterword.
“It’s short and sweet, but it is pretty heavy and dense,” Rocky Mountain Books publisher Don Gorman said of the afterword.
The addition to A Purpose Ridden updated readers on Correy’s life since 2015, including marriage, new races and the diagnosis.
His second book, Bikepacking in the Canadian Rockies, is due out this summer.
A biography on Correy ’s website says his love of cycling began at age 13 when he and his father, Peter, began a series of long-distance rides across Canada. His cycling adventures included a 25,000-kilometre trek from Alaska to Argentina in 131 days.
In 2008, Correy became the fastest Canadian to complete the gruelling Race Across America. He finished the 24-hour-a-day race from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md., in under 12 days.
“This kid’s all about excellence, in whatever he takes on. His dreams are above and beyond what you or I might think of as reasonable, but he always tries his best,” his father told the Calgary Herald before the 2008 Race Across America.
Correy competed last June in the 24 Hours of Adrenaline cycling race at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Over the course of one day, 36 minutes and 15 seconds, he lapped the hill-laden, 17-km track 17 times to win the 24-hour solo category.