Man who died riding at Imbil remembered as a 'beautiful man'
'Since February we had been in touch almost every day of the week'
Gympie
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Trail bike rider Stuart McKay is remembered to have been a 'beautiful man'.
The 51-year-old Samford man is believed to have suffered a heart-attack, moments before falling off his trail bike at Imbil State Forest just after 11am on Saturday.
His close friend John Mcnaught said he had known Mr McKay since school but had lost touch with him until recently.
"I had known him since 1980. We went to the same school and then when Stuart was 20, 21 he got a contract for a company in China and we lost contact," he said.
"A mutual mate (of John and Stuart's) had their 50th birthday in February and he was there and we caught up with one another.
"There was a lot of years to catch up on."
Mr McKay had been making fountains, rock walls and other structures out of fibreglass in China which were used in theme parks.
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Mr McKay had been on a six month break from work and wanted to stay in Australia.
"He had been talking about re-entering the workforce but he had not decided what he wanted to do," Mr Mcnaught said.
Mr Mcnaught said they had rekindled their friendship.
"There was a lot of years to catch up on and we hit it off. We picked up where we left," he said.
"It was good, since February we had been in touch almost every day of the week. We had been talking about our likes and dislikes and we still like the old trail bikes and were getting back into that."
Mr Mcnaught remembers his friend as a 'loving man, very caring'.
"He was close to his own family, he loved his mum and wife deeply. He spoke highly of his brother and sister," he said.
"He was of the era that was brought up where like attracts like, beautiful people hang around beautiful people. He was a beautiful man, loving and caring."
The two had been riding in Imbil with another two friends before the tragic accident.
"We had been a couple rides together and in Imbil yesterday was where it all stuffed up," he said.
"There was nothing about yesterday's ride that was different to the rides we had previously done.
"Fifteen minutes before the accident we stopped for a bit of a break. He said he was a little unfit but I said 'just go at your own pace'. I wish he had said something more.
"I sent one of our mates on his bike to call triple zero because there was no service and I just kept trying to resuscitate him until the ambulance got there. I did not stop. There is always something more you wish you could have done.
"It is different when you hear about an accident happening to someone else and you think 'that is so sad' but when it is so close and when you are doing CPR on your friend, it is a whole different thing."
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