Video: NZ freerider Kelly McGarry, who died last month, hits trails with his whippet

If there’s one thing some of us here at road.cc love as much as our bicycles, it’s our dogs. So we find this video rather poignant – it features the late Kiwi freeride star Kelly McGarry riding his bike while being chased by his whippet, Tui.

McGarry died last month, aged just 33, after suffering a cardiac arrest while riding trails near Queenstown, New Zealand where he was due to do some filming for bike sponsor, the German company YT industries.

Another of his sponsors, ODI Grips, produced the footage of McGarry riding with his dog, and they say:

Anyone lucky enough to interact with Kelly McGarry was instantly struck by his good natured personality and ability to make you feel like an old friend within minutes of meeting him.

We at ODI were fortunate to have been able to work with Kelly over the past few years and were ecstatic when Kelly approached us about doing an edit with his beloved dog Tui.

After his tragic passing we were torn on what to do with this footage. Upon consulting those closest to him we decided that it was best to release this edit both as a fitting tribute to a great person and as a reminder to enjoy the ride of life.

Here it is.

ODI Grips add:

For those who have been inspired by Kelly or would like to help continue to support his passion for mountain biking, we would encourage you to visit and contribute to one of the following Trusts that were set-up in Kelly’s honour.

Gofundme.com/KellyMcGarry

Givealittle.co.nz/org/kellymcgarrymemorialtrust

Funds collected will be used to fulfil his passion by “advocating for and building mountain bike trails in New Zealand and supporting emerging/promising/rising New Zealander mountain bikers in pursuit of achieving their goals domestically and abroad.”

Our hearts and thoughts go out to all those who knew Kelly. This is a tragic loss for the mountain bike community as for all those who knew and interacted with him. He will certainly be missed. RIP Mcgazza.