The Okanagan Granfondo confirmed on July 15 that a death occurred on race day in Penticton.
Two longtime friends of the man who died while competing in the Okanagan Granfondo on Sunday remain in shock after confirming their good buddy Greg Clark died tragically while competing in the long distance cycling race Sunday in Penticton.
Terry Mullen and Greg Joyce both described Clark, a retired RCMP officer, as a remarkable athlete, great father and husband and terrific friend.
Both said finding out Clark had died doing what he loved is still hard to grasp.
However, both said he was doing what he loved as playing hockey, cycling and staying fit were an integral part of who he was.
鈥淚 played hockey with Greg for quite a few years and he was just an outstanding player,鈥� said Mullen. 鈥淎nother thing my wife and I did with Greg and his wife was for more than 20 years is we went on cycling trips to Europe. He and his wife were with us probably 80 per cent of the time we went to Europe.
鈥淗e was quite a remarkable cyclist. I can remember many times we鈥檇 be climbing a massive hill and I鈥檇 be exhausted and he鈥檇 be waiting for me at the top. I鈥檇 ask him how did you manage to get up so quickly. He鈥檇 smile and say 鈥榳hat hill鈥欌� didn鈥檛 see one.鈥�
Clark was as nice a person as he was gifted as an athlete, said Mullen.
鈥淗e鈥檚 the mildest person that I know,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e smiled more often than anyone else I know. I also don鈥檛 remember him ever criticizing anybody ever, for any reason. He was such a remarkable guy. He was so talented not just in sports, but so many other things. He was so easy to get along with. He was so fit and didn鈥檛 have an ounce of fat on him. It鈥檚 just really hard to believe.鈥�
Clark became a wizard at woodworking and carpentry over the past decade and loved nothing better than creating small works of art with wood and doing home renovation upgrades. He also started a small business fixing bicycles of all shapes and sizes, said Mullen.
鈥淗e just loved doing that sort of thing,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檇 ask him what project are you working on next. I don鈥檛 ever recall him ever saying I鈥檝e got nothing to do and nothing I鈥檓 working on. He鈥檇 finish one project and be starting on another.鈥�
Clark had a special relationship with his daughter Heather and they competed together in numerous cycling events over the past several years, said Mullen.
鈥淕reg and Heather had completed some of the most demanding cycling tours together and it was remarkable what they accomplished,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey competed in the big race in Whistler numerous times and that race is known for how hilly and difficult it is.鈥�
Another friend, Greg Joyce, also had nothing but great things to say about Clark.
鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 a close friend of mine, but I played oldtimers hockey with him for many years,鈥� said Joyce, in a phone call Monday morning from the same neighbourhood where Clark lived. 鈥淗e was a very good hockey player and we all knew he cycled a lot. We both played in an oldtimers hockey league at UBC (University of British Columbia). He actually lives about five blocks from me on the west side of Vancouver near UBC.鈥�
Not only was Clark one of the best senior hockey players he knew, but he was also committed to staying in shape through cycling and competed in numerous cycling events like the Granfondo every year he knew him, said Joyce.
鈥淗e was an avid cyclist and I knew he had cycled regularly in Europe with friends. I also knew he did a lot of these long-distance type cycling races. I don鈥檛 know how many times he had competed in Penticton, but I do know he had competed in a lot of these long races elsewhere.鈥�
When he received the news on Sunday that Clark had died so tragically, it really hit him hard, said Joyce.
鈥淚鈥檓 still so stunned,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he guy was in superb shape. He was thin and super fit and always appeared to be in such excellent shape.鈥�
Having to inform his fellow hockey friends what happened is not going to be easy, said Joyce.
鈥淗e was one of the best hockey players out there in the group we鈥檝e been with for many years,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e was a very nice guy and everyone liked him. This is tough.鈥�
Clark was a retired RCMP officer who worked out of the Squamish detachment for many years, then switched to a career in workplace safety for more than 20 years, said Mullen.
In a statement from the Okanagan Grandfondo, organizers of the event expressed their sympathies to the family.
"The Okanagan Granfondo Penticton team is deeply saddened by the non-event-related tragedy that happened today at our event. We are heavy-hearted and our thoughts are with those affected," reads the statement.
