Matt Rose, 31, had been mountain biking with Andrew Chu for months before discovering he was decades younger than the man considered a legend in the North Shore hiking community.
“It’s nothing more than traveling with a friend who is 21 or 15 years old, as if I went crazy to check out the big features. He likes big kids in a lot of ways,” said Rose, a fan of Chu, 51. she said on social media for years before meeting him in person.
“On Instagram, I saw the videos of this crazy guy pop up, and he was doing things on an e-bike that I never imagined imaginable on an e-bike. He seemed like a really exclusive person,” Rose said.
The two men, united by their love of excessive running, created the free Ride Club once a month that met at the base of Cypress Mountain, where Chu encouraged and advised less experienced cyclists.
“It’s like everyone we met knows him or knows him on the North Shore,” Rose said. Many other runners of Chu’s age marveled at his ability and willingness to tackle challenging trails.
“I think more than that, it’s exactly his personality that makes him a legend. He’s full of joy and love for cycling,” Rose said.
On Saturday, March 6, on a walk through Cypress, Chu was demonstrating how to descend a slab of rock when he lost control and crashed into a tree. His center stopped, and he may just not resurrect it. Rose, who was driving to another component of the mountain, learned of her friend’s death through a phone call.
“I couldn’t get through this without the other people I have in the equestrian network,” Rose said of Chu’s death. The day after the tragedy, members of this network piled up at the position where Chu made his last trip.
“We brought flowers and it was just a matter of putting them down, cracking open a couple of beers and pouring them,” Rose said.
A monument to Andrew Chu can be seen at the spot where he died (Matt Rose).
Chu married Kaede Sakurai, also a mountain bike enthusiast, and worked as an educational assistant in the North Vancouver School District.
“I can’t think of anyone better to do it, someone who just had time for people. His only goal was to take care of people, so I can only believe that he was exceptional in that task because he was exceptional in taking the time. “for us,” Rose said.
A fundraiser set up for Chu’s widow quadrupled the original goal of $5,000.
“I think I’ve mastered their reach, and then I get a message request on Instagram from someone,” Rose said. “Decades of legacy and other people he touched. “
The North Shore mountain biking network is thinking of tactics to honor Chu’s legacy.
“We need to put memorials in the forest and build something a little more permanent, to call a trail in his honor. As much as we can,” Rose said.
Chu, his jockey friend 20 years younger and who went from Instagram follower to friend, added, “I never will. “
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