One had stayed with him and called 111 while the other rode back to the carpark to alert first responders - he was on a pink Commencal Meta bike, and is aged in his mid to late 20s.
"We're presuming he did a jump. There are plenty of them up there," the team member, who did not want to be named, said. "Pigeon Run is certainly renowned for its double jumps. I think he just got the jump a little bit wrong and it turned out tragically.
St John Ambulance Lakes area manager Hilary Morrish-Allen said Mr Walker was unresponsive when paramedics arrived.
She said he had suffered a head injury.
The Rotorua Mountain Bike Club posted on Facebook on Wednesday night.
"Our thoughts tonight are with family and friends of Cole Walker who has passed away following a bad accident in the forest this past week. The forest brings so much joy to people. It is not often that we have to accept this kind of sad news.
"The club and its members want to extend their deepest condolences to Cole's family at this time."
Club treasurer Malcolm Thomas said there was talk of a memorial ride in the forest and if that was something Walker family members wished to hold then the club would support them.
Cole Walker.
Rotorua mountain biker Louis Hamilton told the Rotorua Daily Post from Whistler, Canada, that he first met Mr Walker last year while he was working at Mountain Bike Rotorua at the Waipa carpark.
"He politely asked me to use a pump for his tyres. Since meeting him we had both competed in the 2W Enduro race and a Descend NZDH round in Rotorua. Knowing this was in our forest does make me stop and think about what we do for a sport and the risks we take to do what we love. At the same time there won't be a day that someone in our community rides through our forest and doesn't think about Cole."
Pigeon Run is a Grade 5 track 500m long. It is accessed from Katore Rd and is described on the Ride Rotorua website as a "virtually straight run down the fall line of the hill".
