I met Ulrike once. Nancy, (My Canadian Mum as I fondly call her) was giving me a bike but wouldn’t be home on the day I was to receive it. She arranged with Ulrike, who was her neighbour to meet me and give the bike on the Saturday afternoon I was to receive it. Ulrike did not only hand the bike over to me, she took her time to explain some of the things that I needed to fix before using the bike. I particularly recall her telling me that I might need to change the tyres to slimmer ones later if I wanted to use the bike daily on the road. Afterwards, she walked me to the bike shop to pump the tyres and get a helmet. I was thankful to have received such attention and enthusiasm from someone who only just met me.

Although this is the only memory I have of Ulrike, she made a kind impression and I am glad I met her, even if it was just that one time. May her soul Rest In Peace.

I met Ulrike at work, and we became friends. We lived blocks from one another and she looked after my cats and I, her plants. She loved happy hour and we would meet up every few months for happy hour snacks.  She was always in for a good deal if she could find one.

She always cared about others and her community and I will always remember her for that. She helped me set up my bike which someone abandoned at her building and was always there if I needed advice or tips navigating the neighbourhood.

I will miss her passion for cycling, the environment, travelling and community and our occasional happy hour. Miss you, Ulrike.

To read the words of all who experienced time with Ulrike, I am left feeling a void at not having known the real woman.  My experience with Ulrike, was only through the Society of Techinal Communications (STC) body, and in what became her last work environment.

In the short time I'd known Ulrike, I was impressed with her.  She was talented, smart and strong willed. I was excited to learn that she was joining my work team, but disappointed that opportunities to meet for coffee or lunch were not possible with COVID present.

She left us to soon, and we're saddened to think how she may have suffered with her final health challenges.

The team would like to contribute to her endowment fund, but we need to know how we can make this contribution please.

Yvan: The fund will be set up for donations in a few days. Please check back soon.

I’ve known Ulrike since high school in the 1970s.  She was smart, vibrant, fun to be with and wise enough to see trouble and steer clear of it.

As teenagers, did we hitch-hike with our friend Martin 160 km to go camping at Killbear Provincial Park, after telling our parents we were bussing to Wasaga Beach?   Um…..maybe

Did Ulrike and I climb the fence after hours to get the hot tub running at our Louisiana campground so we could drink some Gentleman Jack whiskey in the midnight hot tub bubbles?   Uh…probably

I’ll never forget the time in the 90s that we were picked up on Vancouver Island by some guys who needed an adult to ride in the box with their lively kids.  Ulrike happily shared the truck box with our bikes, the kids, the kids’ candy (which they shared freely with her), the laundry and some paint cans, as we roared north on the Island Highway.   She had a blast with the kids, and ended the ride excited with shining eyes.  This, after we had bailed on another ride, because she did not feel safe.

She was so fun to travel with because she was always up for new experiences.  We transformed a cycling trip on Vancouver Island into a hitch-hiking, cycling trip on Haida Gwaii.   We rode our bikes out a dirt road in the rainforest to Rose Spit, and, of course, made sure to stop in at The Path, an off-the-grid cocktail bar and restaurant on the way.

Her care and empathy for people in need sets an example for us all.   We once encountered a man who was about to jump off of one of Vancouver’s bridges.  No way could Ulrike ride past him.  We talked him down and into a coffee shop, where Ulrike disappeared into a locked washroom with this stranger for 20 minutes, scaring me, of course.  She managed to soothe him, and we got him as much help as he would take…Ulrike’s brown eyes pouring out care, worry and sympathy.

This empathy continues on with the donation of her condo and her savings to help women and girls in need.

I’ll so sadly miss cycling through Vancouver’s streets with her, on our way to a cinnamon bun or some gin tasting.   I’ll miss hearing of her fun-filled travels.

Ulrike set a fantastic example for us by stepping lightly and with purpose on the earth while she made her community better and enjoyed life.  I’m so grateful for the multitude of blogs and photos to help us remember her beautiful smile and adventurous spirit.

I got to know Uli during our many lunchtime walks and after-work beers when we worked together at City Hall. 

A sensitive soul, she provided me with insights that helped me gain a new perspective on my son's thoughts and behaviour. He too is a sensitive person and I remember him enjoying her company at a staff gathering, then later at one of my family's holiday "orphans' dinners" with friends whose families lived far away. Uli's ready smile and curious nature made it seemingly easy for her to fit in with anyone. It's no surprise to me that she had such a wide, wonderful range of friends. One of my photos was taken at a Thanksgiving dinner, the other was taken during a birthday beer outing.

I became a fairly regular (albeit fair-weather) bicycle commuter, something I don't know would have happened without her encouragement. Our conversations veered from serious topics like race, identity, and family, to the fun stuff like music, food, and travel. When I see salted caramel anything, I think of how she couldn't understand people's obsession with it. She did, however, enjoy a good crostata, particularly with a good coffee.

We joked about our trips to the "four corners" formed by some of our favourite independent coffee shops near City Hall. Uli, I'm going to miss you. I can only hope we meet again some day at another version of the four corners. Until then, rest easy, my friend. 

I met Ulrike (circa 2005) when she came to MEC to meet the copy editor. We chatted while she waited for her meeting. Something about her drew me immediately. A magnetism and such a warm smile. Copywriting was not my dept. and I have no recollection how we stayed in touch, but we did. We both loved travel and riding. I admired her adventurousness. I respected her willingness to stand up against injustice. My heart goes out to all those who were close to her. The world needs more Ulrikes.

Ulrike and I initially met as members of the BC Association of Travel Writers. She was always the one organizing get-togethers such as “Beers with Peers” and a few of us would always take her up on it. When my wife and I moved to France in 2013 Ulrike and I had lost touch, but a couple of winters later we met by chance on the streets of Panjim in Goa, India.  

Of course we spent time together over the next few days and by the end of the stay, Ulrike was coming to see us in France the following winter to not only visit but to house/cat sit while we did a bit of travelling. She brought a bike with her and cycled to more places than we had during her stay. She also became very much a part of the community in our little French village and came to visit again for a summer bike tour a couple of years later. 

This is all such a shock that such a vibrant, healthy woman could have this happen so quickly. RIP Ulrike; your legacy remains.

I recall meeting Ulrike for the first time in Amy's living room for a Momentum magazine editorial planning session. Being new, she was friendly and along with everyoneade me feel welcome. Since then our love of cycling, in the city and out beyond for adventures short and long has meant that we have cris crossed each other many times over the last fifteen years.

One anecdote I'd like to share is when we were both on the board of the then named Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. We both had come together with the shared realization that the name and the brand elements were no longer adequately reflecting the breadth of activities and ambitions of the organization.

Over the next few months we discussed how to develop a process to create a new brand that better reflected the organization, its ambitions and how it would be in the world. Ulrike was resourceful and forceful, she was able through her gentle and open style to bring people on board and found a contact at a national communications and marketing company willing to provide pro-bono work for the non profit.

Ten years later Hub is a thriving and amazing organization that has grown into its new name and I like to think that Ulrike was part of the transformation into a diverse and inclusive community organization.

I will miss her dearly, her warm smile and and her earnest dissatisfaction with the status quo. Our community has lost someone who was an inspiration as she engaged in so many ways with a vision of a better world. I am certain that this inspiration will live on in all who knew and collaborated with her throughout the years.  Ride on in peace. Gwendal 

My family and I met Ulrike in Lauzun, when she visited our common friends Ian and Susan Cook in South of France then housesat and took care of their cat Friday. We had many opportunities to chat in my bar, enjoy music together, gatherings in the village with friends and neighbours and she immediately fitted !

There are so many adjectives that come to my mind when I think of her or see her picture and all of them are positive : smiley, welcoming, smart, warm, interesting, joyful, discreet, friendly, happy....the list is almost endless! To us, who met her for such a short time, it's been a shock finding out this morning she had passed away, I can't imagine the loss for her family and closer friends.

My daughter Aliénor, who's 13, my son Tristan, who's 12 and myself wish to let her relatives and friends know how much joy she brought everywhere she went and how much we wish she had been able to come back. Her blog shows what she did when she was here, a big part of her time here in South of France was spent meeting people and discovering tiny villages and I'm sure, just like us, they will remember her smile forever. Rest in peace lovely lady !