Betty Birrell expertly guides her mountain bike over an elevated wooden ramp, catching some air, then lands smoothly on a trail she91裸聊视频檚 ridden countless times before.

At 76, the local legend has spent three decades tackling the rugged slopes of Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 North Shore mountains, beginning in about 1993, when she says it was an anomaly to see another woman racing through the lush forests.

Birrell sums up those early days as 91裸聊视频渓ots of gnar, lots of jank, not much suspension91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� for non-riders, that roughly translates as steep, tight, rocky and generally sketchy terrain on bikes that were a far cry from today91裸聊视频檚 high-tech machines.

She91裸聊视频檚 still tackling some of the most challenging trails the North Shore has to offer, but after many years of mostly riding alone, Birrell has found community in the Shore Sirens, a group for women and nonbinary riders formed in 2023.

Shore Sirens president and co-founder Jessie Curell describes Birrell as an elite athlete who shows up 91裸聊视频渢o shred almost every time,91裸聊视频� not just enjoy the fresh air.

91裸聊视频淏etty is the queen of the shore. She is the matriarch,91裸聊视频� Curell says.

If Birrell is the queen of the shore, then Todd Fiander is the king.

Widely known by his mountain moniker 91裸聊视频淒igger,91裸聊视频� Fiander has spent 40 years building trails and putting the area on the map for a worldwide audience.

Together, Birrell and Fiander embody the history of the sport on the North Shore, and after years on the extremes, they are also shepherding its future, helping to make it more inclusive.

They91裸聊视频檝e been running into each other on the Shore for years. Birrell says she still gives Fiander 91裸聊视频渉eck91裸聊视频� for including a clip of her crashing in one of his classic 91裸聊视频淣orth Shore Extreme91裸聊视频� videos, instead of showing her completing the first successful lap over his wooden roller-coaster feature dubbed The Monster.

That was about 20 years ago.

It was once 91裸聊视频渢aboo91裸聊视频� to build trails, says Fiander. He spent several years in exile from his primary domain, Mount Fromme, after he says officials with the District of North Vancouver told him in the 1990s that 91裸聊视频渢he free ride was over91裸聊视频� and to stop building trails.

But today, 65-year-old Fiander works with the North Shore Mountain Bike Association to maintain what have become destination trails for casual and professional riders alike.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e always wanted more people riding,91裸聊视频� says Fiander, who helped found the association. 91裸聊视频淚 do it for the young kids and the community.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频楾RAILS FOR ALL91裸聊视频�

The group91裸聊视频檚 mission statement is 91裸聊视频渢rails for all, trails forever,91裸聊视频� and executive director Deanne Cote says Fiander embodies that spirit.

The terrain Fiander sculpted gave rise to a distinct North Shore style of riding and helped chart a course for the development of the sport worldwide.

The North Shore is a rider91裸聊视频檚 playground, characterized by steep, rocky descents and imposing rock slabs, slick roots, logs, jumps and cedar bridges called 91裸聊视频渟kinnies,91裸聊视频� sometimes barely wider than a bike tire and metres off the ground.

Fiander is responsible for some of the most stomach-turning trails and features on the Shore, helping to inspire the distinct free-ride style that he describes as 91裸聊视频渏ust letting her go.91裸聊视频�

But Cote says Fiander recognizes that91裸聊视频檚 not for everyone.

91裸聊视频淗e wants the kids to be out there, he wants the moms to be out with their kids. And so his style of building has evolved over the years as well,91裸聊视频� she says.

Fiander says the North Shore has enough extreme trails.

91裸聊视频淲e need beginner trails where people can learn to ride and have fun and get out in the environment,91裸聊视频� he says.

In recent years, Fiander has been augmenting trails for riders of adaptive mountain bikes, such as the classic Expresso trail, which he91裸聊视频檚 been making wider.

Fiander claims numerous mountain biking milestones, including building the first wooden ramp, ladder bridge, teeter-totter and roller-coaster features on any trail.

Birrell was the first person to ride that roller-coaster, The Monster.

She recalls riding one of her go-to trails when she came across Fiander hammering in the final nails on The Monster. She rode it twice as he filmed.

But on her third try, Birrell says she stalled and lost her balance and fell at the top of one of the high humps, dislocating her shoulder.

Fiander reluctantly helped put her shoulder back in place. It was the crash rather than Birrell91裸聊视频檚 two successful runs that made the cut in his video.

91裸聊视频淚 always have to razz him about putting the crash in the shot and not the actual riding,91裸聊视频� she says.

Birrell says she was hooked right away when she started riding as a single mother in her mid-40s, racking up bruises and broken bones over the years.

91裸聊视频淢ountain biking gave me that sense of freedom, that sense of autonomy,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淲e never talked about mental health back in those days really, but now, everybody does, and it91裸聊视频檚 true. It just cleans your soul and feeds your soul.91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 also the thrill and exhilaration, she concedes.

Curell, the Shore Sirens president, says Birrell is 91裸聊视频渉ardcore,91裸聊视频� seeking out steep and technical terrain and consistently pushing the intensity of group rides.

91裸聊视频淪he always wants to ride. The other day, she texted me, you know, out of 11 days she91裸聊视频檚 ridden nine days. This is in the middle of the winter.91裸聊视频�

Birrell is no stranger to trail-blazing in extreme sports. A former professional windsurfer, she was among the first women in that sport to tackle Hawaii91裸聊视频檚 biggest waves.

While she has shared many laps with her son over the years, Birrell says she always felt comfortable mountain biking alone.

But Birrell says it91裸聊视频檚 been a 91裸聊视频済ame-changer91裸聊视频� to join the Shore Sirens.

91裸聊视频淚 spent so many years often having to ride by myself or with guys who aren91裸聊视频檛 necessarily, from my generation, very supportive,91裸聊视频� she says.

91裸聊视频淓ven guys that were often, you know, like 20 years younger than me,91裸聊视频� she recalls. 91裸聊视频淭hey wouldn91裸聊视频檛 want to say well done, or rah, rah, or good line or anything.91裸聊视频�

Birrell says she91裸聊视频檚 found support with the Sirens, soaking in the energy of the group.

91裸聊视频淚 love it because it inspires me too,91裸聊视频� she says. 91裸聊视频淵ou just feed off each other, you know, I show them that you don91裸聊视频檛 have to quit. You can keep going.91裸聊视频�

Curell recalls interviewing Birrell for the Shore Sirens91裸聊视频� podcast called 91裸聊视频淧aradigm Shift91裸聊视频� and asking the North Shore icon what community meant to her. 91裸聊视频淪he said, 91裸聊视频業 never knew what the word community meant until I met the Shore Sirens.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a really beautiful thing to be able to give back to her, in terms of community,91裸聊视频� Curell says, adding 91裸聊视频渟he doesn91裸聊视频檛 realize, I don91裸聊视频檛 think, the impact that she has on us.91裸聊视频�

She says Birrell is the epitome of what women can aspire to bein a sport often perceived as dominated by white men.

91裸聊视频淎ll of the stereotypes of women riders as weak, as sexualized objects that don91裸聊视频檛 know what they91裸聊视频檙e doing, she blows it all out of the water.91裸聊视频�

Curell says she91裸聊视频檚 seen Birrell forced to reckon with ageism, as some people who don91裸聊视频檛 know her don91裸聊视频檛 take her seriously when they see her on the trails.

91裸聊视频淪he91裸聊视频檚 obviously proving them wrong, but it91裸聊视频檚 work, right? To stand up for yourself.91裸聊视频�

Birrell is breaking barriers and boosting inclusivity in the sport, Currell says, noting that is part of the Sirens91裸聊视频� mission to create a safe and supportive environment for all riders.

She has been a mentor with the Sirens, and she91裸聊视频檚 an ambassador at the indoor bike park on the North Shore, where she hosts weekly rides for people aged 50 and up.

Fiander, too, has his eyes on the future, even as he reflects on the past.

He says if you build something, you have to take care of it.

91裸聊视频淚 take great pride in looking after my trails,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淚 will look after them until I can91裸聊视频檛 go up there anymore.91裸聊视频�

Marin County, Calif., may be known as the birthplace of modern mountain biking, but Fiander says the North Shore brought something different.

91裸聊视频淭hey were riding their moms91裸聊视频� fat-tire bike down skid roads, you know, down logging roads,91裸聊视频� Fiander says of the early exploits in California.

But on the North Shore? 91裸聊视频淲e invented the trail.91裸聊视频�