After nearly 30 years on the harrowing and hallowed trails of British Columbia’s North Shore Mountains, Betty Birrell still thinks life is one big playground—and that you’re never too old to send.
The misty forests above North Vancouver, British Columbia, are hallowed ground for mountain biking, a place so harrowing it’s influenced every aspect of the sport for over 30 years. It’s also where Betty Birrell, at age 45, picked up mountain biking after a career as a mountaineer and professional windsurfer.