Always being ready to go out on the bike at the weekend is as natural as at some point in life for some women to want to become moms. However, among the things that could happen as we age there is certainly the desire not to want to age but realizing that instead we may wish to age well is even more important.
“When I was 50, I never thought I'd be able to ride a mountain bike on a trail at 73,” he says. "It's interesting how your perception of age changes as you get older. I'd love to be 65 again. Isn't that crazy? Who would have thought that. But the greatest thing I've learned is to appreciate where I am." Betty Birrell.
This is what happened to Betty Birrel who, at 73, still tirelessly walks the trails of the North Shore Mountains of British Columbia with her XNUMX-year-old son Hayden Robbins. The passion for freeride has made their relationship special, an indissoluble relationship of eternal trust and respect like the one with our bicycle.
Betty in 1994, aged 45, bought her first mountain bike and a close friend of hers took her down the 7th secret, a trail on Mount Fromme. Her second lap was on the “executioner” trail, a technical, steep and full of obstacles. Both have retained the black diamond rating and even with today's best full-suspension bikes many would find the hangman terrifying.

Betty, immediately captured by the adventure, lights up in the face at the memory.
The challenge of raising a child alone without ever letting your guard down.
In the 70s he was studying geography at university and on weekends he went to climb the highest peaks in Vancouver with his group of friends. She became passionate about windsurfing and during the early 80's she became one of the strongest in that sport surfing 30m waves like none of her before.
He moves to Hawaii where he works as an international flight attendant and gives windsurfing lessons always carving out time to surf his waves. She marries a Canadian colleague three years after her stay on the island and continues to commute between Hawaii and British Columbia for a year. Eventually, she returns to Canada at 39, giving birth to Hayden.
“I think motherhood is the best adventure ever,” she says. "I was so surprised how much I loved being a mom, how much I loved being pregnant."

Shortly before Hayden's second birthday, her husband leaves them. She recalls an argument before the breakup: "She said: you just think life is a big fucking playground." And I said: Well, yes! I thought it was a nice compliment. "
As a single mom, Betty works on overseas flights on weekends while Hayden stays with her father or grandmother and returns for bed on Sunday. She says “You just fit in as you go along. I just reinvented the adventure. Instead of mountaineering or anything like that, we went camping with my parents and it was just amazing. "
Time together is the secret
Above the stairs of her house is a huge canvas photo of her and her son Hayden beaming after a day of skiing together and Betty is delighted when it comes to her greatest loved ones. Mountain biking was the perfect activity for a single mom because it was right behind the house that we could go out and practice together.

In those years Betty goes to pick up Hayden from school and rushes to Fromme for a ride as soon as she can. Hayden remembers his coaching enthusiasm and his patience, a key component in transmitting confidence. At an age when most kids want their parents to park around the corner to not be seen by their friends, Hayden has always welcomed mother joining him and her friends around her. He says, "It's great when you get on a technical path with her, she's darting here and there the best of my friends."
