Posted: 02 / 20 / 2004 by Ken
	Chris at Kelowna's Ben Lee Park
	Chris at the Coldstream, BC park.
	Jump at Kelowna's Ben Lee Park

Chris Cayford
Story and photos by Various contributors

It was roughly 4 o’clock when I got the news about Chris. I had just come home from school and one of my friends was telling me that he had gone missing. I went in shock and did not understand how it could happen. About 30 minutes later I had asked a good friend of mine named Mat Ridgeway if he had herd anything about this, he told me that he was snowboarding out of bounds and had gotten stuck and got hypothermia, and then perished. It didn’t hit me for about five minutes that he was gone. As soon as I did realize, I stared to cry and soon after, my dad had came to tell me the rest of the story since he had known more than I had.
Chris was the guy who everyone loved to ride with, even if it was a shitty day and no one was pulling anything. Somehow, he would just make it good. He would help you with anything, even if it was fixing your bike or stickering every spoke on someone’s bike while they were filming another guy trying a trick. Sometimes Chris would put his music on and do every ledge and rail in the park like it was nothing. He would help you with every trick you tried, like he told me how to do feeble to barspins. Or this other time he was telling me how to barspin this wedge-to-wedge hip and after I pulled it, I looked up and he was laughing. I met Chris about a year and-a-half ago and enjoyed every minute I spent riding with him.
Chris, you will always be my big buddy and no one will ever forget you. We loved ya. Have fun sessioning heaven’s halfpipe and I’ll see you later on. -Matt Desson

Kelowna's BMX, skate, MTB and snow communities have lost a great friend this past week. Twenty six year old Chris Cayford of Cyclepath bike shop died in the backcountry of Big White while snowboarding. He will be missed dearly and remembered forever for his great skill, contribution to the scene and most of all his calm, positive manner and love for life.
Those in the Kelowna area can attend the Trinity Baptist Church at Springfeild and Spall Rd. for an informal memorial Saturday morning at 10:00 to celebrate Chris' life. Chris truly lived his dreams and for that, was an inpiration to us all. -Mike Kittmer, Cyclepath Kelowna

On February 2nd 2004, it changed my life forever.
Chris was someone who I cared about, looked up to, and admired his devotion to his friends and to riding his bike. Chris was a true, honest, hard working person and could make his bike do anything he wanted it to. Every time I was around Chris, he was happy. Whether it was while he was riding or whether he was at work, he was always a positive guy. He lived his life to its full extent, whether it was blasting a hip as fast as he could go, or giving 100% effort at work.
I will miss him deeply, and wish he will be riding by my side every time I ride R.I.P Chris -Jarad

Chris played an important, active role in the Kelowna BMX scene. I only had the fortune to meet Chris twice, and one time we shot a few photos at the Ben Lee park while I was the editor of Chase. The one photo left, of Chris jumping the barrel is one of my favourite shots, out of all the hundreds of photos I've taken. Other than the fact that he worked at the Cyclepath in Kelowna, and organised the Winfield bowl jam, I didn't know much about Chris. I do know, however, after hearing about his passing, he will surely be missed as a rider, a great friend, and much, much more. -Ken Paul

Here's the story which appeared in the Kelowna Capital News...