“Exercise was going to be my insurance policy to enjoy being active to a very old age,” explains Betty Birrell. And move she has—on the slopes, among the waves, on the trails in the mountains. Growing up as an outdoorsy, adventurous kid, being active is hardwired in Betty’s DNA, and she’s maintained her proclivity for momentum in all decades of her life: skiing, mountaineering, hiking, windsurfing, running, road biking, mountain biking (you name it, she’s done it). Despite her age, oftentimes being older than her fellow wave-riders and now bikers, Betty hasn’t let up. She’s proved to herself and to others that staying active doesn’t have an age limit.
When Betty started windsurfing in the waves of Oahu—and went on to run clinics and become a pioneer in women’s windsurfing in the 1980s—she was 30, ten years older than everyone else riding the waves. When she started mountain biking at 45—to keep active as a single mom and exercise the family dog between maintaining the house and yard and going to work as a flight attendant—she had a few decades on the other riders as well. Initially, she was quite self-conscious about the age gap, and so she never told anyone how many birthdays she’d celebrated for fear of being judged. But then she recognized that self-inflicted ageism and set herself free.
Now, Betty proudly rides as one of the oldest mountain bikers to grace the trails of the Greater Vancouver area. She’s found a multigenerational community of riders who inspire one another, and she’s learned to silence her own internalized ageism. She also brushes off and is not afraid to call out the ageism of those who’ve told her she should “slow down” or “take up another sport.” No, Betty continues to ride on and embrace the feeling of freedom as she amiably flies through the forest. And she plans to keep riding into her 80s, 90s, and beyond.
How old are you?
I turned 77 at the beginning of September.
Are you married? Kids?
I got married when I was 34, had my son at 39, and at 43, my husband and I parted ways when our son was two (1991). My partner of today and I have been together for almost 20 years.
Where are you from, and where are you currently based?
I grew up in Saltair on Vancouver Island, an area that (at the time) was semi-rural, between Ladysmith and Chemanius. It was a wonderful place to grow up. I have been living on the mainland since my university years at the University of British Columbia. For the last 10 years, I have been living in Lions Bay, BC, a small village of 1,200 nestled between the sea and the mountains on the Sea to Sky Highway, between West Vancouver and Squamish.
It’s been said that you “treat life like one big playground.” Where do you think this approach to life stems from?
Definitely from my parents. My mom grew up on a very large grain farm in Manitoba, and my dad was raised on a remote working ranch in Northern, BC, so they both had a real connection to the outdoors, lots of land on which they were free to roam and adventure. My dad was especially outdoorsy—a real mountain man of that era. My two brothers and I basically grew up outside. We were always encouraged to go outside and play, rain or shine. We were given a fairly free rein to roam the hills, forests, and ocean near our property, always seeking adventure. My parents took us hiking, boating to explore coastal islands in a small boat that my dad built in our basement, fishing, camping, and beachcombing.
Who gave you the nickname “North Shore Betty”?
Patagonia made a film about me and came up with this title. The mountains surrounding the Greater Vancouver area, known as the North Shore, are where free-ride mountain biking was “born,” back in the ‘80s, and where I have done most of my mountain biking over the years. (Coincidentally, from 1979 to 1982, I transferred my base as a flight attendant from Vancouver to Oahu. I lived on the infamous North Shore, where I pursued my passion for windsurfing in the waves.)
Who first introduced you to mountain biking?
A ski pal of mine, Peter. In the early ‘90s, he would call me up almost everyday, all excited about some new feature that he had mastered on a trail. Initially, I couldn’t relate. I was into various sports at the time—running, skiing, squash, tennis, road biking. My husband had given me my first mountain bike for Christmas in 1987, just before our son was born, but I rarely rode it, apart from around campsites, preferring my road bike.
When Hayden was around four or five, we got a puppy. At about the same time, an x-ray showed that the pain in my hips was osteoarthritis; the radiologist’s report said that I had the hips of a 70 year old!? (This has always given me a chuckle.) My doctor recommended that I give up all my impact sports and focus on riding my road bike to keep the muscles around my hips strong. And voila, this worked; no more pain.
It was really hard as a single mom to keep fit, exercise our dog, be a mom, maintain the house and yard, and go to work. So, at 45, I bought myself a real mountain bike so that I could exercise myself and our dog together. Trails are graded green, blue, black, double black, and orange (easy, intermediate, difficult, most difficult, and pro). Peter took me down black trails for my first two rides. But I was hooked, bruises and all.
When you started mountain biking, you were a flight attendant and had just become a single mom. What about the sport complemented your lifestyle at the time, and how does it work with your lifestyle now?
When I was hired as a flight attendant in 1969, the aviation industry was rapidly expanding, so by the time that my son was born in 1988, I was fairly senior; therefore, I could build my flying schedule to suit my circumstances. When Hayden was young, I would fly high-hour trips to the [East] on the weekends when he was at his dad’s. For me, it was the perfect job for being a single mom as I was home all week to be with Hayden.
You’ve spent over 30 years on the trails of British Columbia’s North Shore Mountains. What about the terrain and trails still surprise and even scare you to this day?
Gaps were never in my comfort zone. Even the smallest gap still scares me, but I do still have fun with small drops and jumps. I used to love elevated “skinnies” (narrow sections of trails built out of woodwork, anywhere from 3” to 12”-ish wide and 2’ to 8’ and more off the ground) and felt comfortable on them. Loved the challenge. Now, unless a feature is close to the ground and at least more than a foot wide, I take the bypass—it’s almost as if the “balance regulator” in my brain starts to misfire. But that’s okay—there’s still lots of trail to ride.
You’ve gotten pretty—as you’ve said—“smashed up” riding. Broken bones, torn rotator cuff, dislocations, the works. What pushes you to get right back on the bike every time?
Mountain biking is my therapy, it feeds my soul. I am passionate about it and I feel so free, engaged, and happy when I am flying through the forest, so that’s a great incentive to work hard to get back on my bike. The alternative is not an option.
There’s an internal voice that tells many of us to slow down, especially after midlife, but you flip that script. How have you navigated those internal and external pressures to keep pushing forward?
When I was in my late teens, or early 20s, I decided that exercise was going to be my insurance policy to enjoy being active to a very old age, so I’ve had this drive to keep fit all my life so that I can keep enjoying my sports.
As for slowing down, I am slower—I used to be faster than my son. But I can’t even keep close to him now. He’s better, I’m older. But I still feel fast and that’s the fun of it.
I was riding double-black-diamond trails confidently into my mid-60s, and then one day I rolled up to a double-black feature that I had ridden many times and couldn’t do it. I had to ride the bypass. This was a difficult transition, giving up that level of riding, especially since everyone I was riding with was still riding at that level (they were at least 15 years younger than me). I’m actually not sure what the trigger was in my brain, perhaps flashbacks of previous injuries? Or an innate need for self-preservation—downhill mountain biking is an extreme sport, apparently.
Before hitting the trails, you pioneered women’s windsurfing in the ‘80s. What sparked your initial interest in windsurfing, and what led you to make the switch to mountain biking?
Again, it was my ski pal Peter who introduced me to windsurfing in Vancouver, and in 1974, another pal and I bought a used stock windsurfer and I was hooked—that feeling of flashing across the water at high speeds. Before and after ski season, a gang of us would spend a month in Hawaii, and, eventually, I decided that I wanted to master the waves; so, I transferred my base from Vancouver to Oahu.
Living there was a dream, it still has a piece of my heart. One of my first sponsors was my future husband, so after three years in Hawaii, I moved back to Vancouver, although I maintained an apartment and car on Oahu for two more years and commuted frequently from Vancouver. I soon after gave up wavesailing competition, as living in Vancouver and commuting to Hawaii was no longer feasible. Subsequently, I started the first ever Women’s High Performance Windsurfing Clinics in the high-wind mecca of The Gorge in Oregon and at various spots on the BC coast. This was so rewarding and my way of giving back to a sport that I loved.
What daily practices do you do to stay physically and mentally sharp?
I eat a nutrient dense, 90% plant-based diet. I get outside everyday, whether it’s to bike, hike, ski, landscape, garden, swim in the ocean. The New York Times’ crossword puzzle and reading are part of my daily ritual, and I try to get to the gym for some stretching and weight training a few times a week.
Do you have a pre- or post-riding ritual to help with any soreness? If so, what does that look like?
Before a ride, I do some dynamic stretching to loosen up my joints and get the muscles firing. I often forget to stretch after a ride, so try to do some basic stretching before bed.
You’ve said that you’ve had lots of adventures in your life, but being a mom was the best one. How have you and your son, Hayden, bonded together through biking?
Mountain biking is somewhat like climbing or mountaineering, where you rely on one other, but without the rope. Hayden was quite young when he started biking, so I was like his mountain guide, offering encouragement, celebrating his accomplishments, helping him overcome his fears, making sure that he was safe. He would follow me down the trails, and if there was a trickier section, I would stop. He would ask me if I thought he could do it—whatever the outcome. There was a trust and bond developed.
What does reinvention mean to you? Were there any specific experiences in your life that made you reframe what it means to reinvent yourself?
At the time, it seemed like a big deal to me when I had to give up all impact sports due to the pain in my hips (I still have those hips) because, for one thing, I loved running and it was important to me. I look back now and realize how lucky I was that I actually had plenty of options and feel very thankful to have been led into mountain biking.
It really is great to see so many older people continue to engage in activity. We may have to adjust (or reinvent) how we do things, but as long as we keep doing them, and hopefully with passion, that’s all that matters. We are not old, just older, and that is so relative. When we are 90, we’ll look back and say, “Heh, I was so young at 70.”
For someone who wants to try something new later in life, what advice would you give them?
Do as much as you can! Taking on new challenges at any time in one’s life is what keeps the fires burning. There are so many senior-oriented courses and senior role models now. You just have to want it and trust in yourself that you can do it, or at least have fun trying.
What do you love most about trail riding now versus when you first started at 45?
Ha, ha! A lot of things! It was so wonderful to be involved in the earlier years of mountain biking on the North Shore—the community, the adventure, the ever-evolving bike technology…. I can’t believe the trails that we used to ride with the bikes that we had. The technology and designs of today’s bikes are amazing—so much safer, agile, and fun to ride.
When I started riding at 45, I rode only with a few guys, who were around my age, who grew up in the ‘50s (wink, wink). I had some heroes, women in their late teens and 20s who were in the news and breaking the boundaries in women’s mountain bike racing, but no regular female riding pals. Today there are so many women riders and women’s riding groups. I belong to two women’s riding groups and I love the sense of community, the support, the camaraderie, the inclusivity, and I’m at least 25 years older than them.
People literally cheer when they ride past you—like you’re a local celebrity. What’s that feeling like, and how does it shape your connection to the community?
It never gets old. I love to hear from people, how they’ve felt inspired by my story, and the inspiration is reciprocal. I truly feed off other riders’ joy and passion for the sport. My favourite comment to the “North Shore Betty” film was from a 16 year old who thought he would have to quit mountainbiking in his 20s but, after watching the film, realized that he had years ahead. I love that.
Looking ahead—say, into your 90s—what kind of adventures are you still dreaming up? What keeps your future-looking spirit alive?
My goal is to continue riding my bike—black trails through my 70s, blues throughout my 80s, greens in my 90s. Knee replacement surgery is on the radar in the next year or two; I’m looking forward to being able to ski pain-free again, getting a gang of pals together to do some backcountry ski touring hut trips, and resuming my love of backpacking trips.
What are your three life non-negotiables (i.e., the things you can’t live without)?
Good nutrition, exercise, friends and family (which includes my dog).
Editor’s Note: Some answers may have been condensed and/or edited for clarity.
Connect with Betty: Instagram (@bbbirrell)
Check out Patagonia’s video and Remy Metailler’s YouTube video of Betty
Cover photo by Travis Rummel / Felt Soul Media
The ideas expressed here are solely the opinions of the author and are not researched or verified by AGEIST LLC, or anyone associated with AGEIST LLC. This material should not be construed as medical advice or recommendation, it is for informational use only. We encourage all readers to discuss with your qualified practitioners the relevance of the application of any of these ideas to your life. The recommendations contained herein are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. You should always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before starting any new treatment or stopping any treatment that has been prescribed for you by your physician or other qualified health provider. Please call your doctor or 911 immediately if you think you may have a medical or psychiatric emergency.
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