I'm not a 70-year-old woman on the trail, I'm a free spirit dancing with gravity.” - Henrietta Stern, mountain biking icon  

This week, we’re breaking the mold with not one, but FIVE remarkable guests – all powerhouse women from the San Francisco Bay Area mountain biking scene.

Meet Jessica, Jenna, Henrietta, Lisa, and Alexis – a group of community entrepreneurs, passionate riders, certified instructors, and social leaders who are changing the face of mountain biking. I was enthralled with their stories of resilience and transformation, shared with wit, joy and candor, and so will you! 🙌🏽

We uncover how they -

- Navigated cultural expectations and overcame physical setbacks to pursue their passion
- Discovered the power of female camaraderie and built a supportive community on and off the trails
- Became advocates for inclusivity, expanding access to mountain biking for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Listen for:

-The importance of finding joy in movement and connecting with nature. ��
-How to overcome fear and build confidence through proper training and supportive community.
-Tips for staying physically and mentally strong to enjoy an active lifestyle at any age.

Resources & Organizations Mentioned:

Girls Rock MTB: https://www.girlsrock-mtb.com/

MORCA (Monterey Off-Road Cycling Association): https://morcamtb.org/

Ninja MTB: https://ridelikeaninja.com/

San Jose Composite NICA Team: https://www.sanjosemtb.org/

Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers: https://www.svmtb.org/

Sea Otter Classic: https://www.seaotterclassic.com/

National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA): https://nationalmtb.org/

Fort Ord Recreation Trails (FORT) Friends: http://www.fortordfriends.org/

Little Bellas: https://littlebellas.com/

Bike Instructor Certification Program (BICP): https://www.bicp.org/

City of Santa Cruz Parks & Rec: https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/parks-recreation

Connect with our guests:

Jessica Tseng: Instagram: @theladiej
Jenna Graham: Instagram: @bcgraham2021
Lisa Birch: Instagram: @didsomeonesay2wheels
Alexis Morgan: Instagram: @lexibsc

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
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🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

Most people never experience a literal 100-foot fall. But most of us do face a moment that changes what we think our future can be.

Craig DeMartino is a climber, coach, and adaptive athlete who rebuilt his life after a devastating accident—and later climbed a 3,000-foot wall in a single day. This episode isn’t about climbing feats for their own sake. It’s about recovery, identity, and the long, unglamorous work of becoming capable again.

In this conversation:

•  What it actually takes to rebuild after a life-altering injury 
•  The mental shift from “returning” to adapting
•  How to set goals that restore agency, not ego 
•  Why community matters when you’re starting over 
•  Craig’s work helping veterans and people with disabilities experience challenge—and possibility—again

Cover Photo Credit: https://www.instagram.com/bearcam/?hl=en

Craig DeMartino's Website:  CraigDeMartino.com, Instagram

Adaptive Adventures: The non-profit organization Craig works with, providing outdoor sports opportunities for individuals with disabilities. AdaptiveAdventures.org

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

They started with a clothesline and a few carabiners. No instructors. No gyms. Just cliffs outside Delhi and a willingness to figure things out.

That was the beginning for Mohit Oberoi—long before climbing had a foothold in India.

From those early, improvised days, Mo went on to build a life around movement and curiosity. Ironman triathlons. Swimming the English Channel. Ultra-runs across the Himalayas. Each time, stepping into something new—and staying long enough to get good.

But what stands out isn’t just the list. It’s the pattern.

A willingness to begin again.
 To learn from scratch.
 To keep going, even after setbacks.

This conversation is about what it looks like to build that kind of life—one pursuit at a time.

Welcome to the world of Mo.

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

The sound it makes when it breaks… it’s terrifying.”

At 59, Lionel Conacher paddled into Mavericks—one of the most dangerous waves in the world.

He hadn’t even started surfing until his 50s.

At the age of 59 years and 8 months, Conacher became the oldest person in the world to surf Maverick's, the "Mount Everest of surfing", one of the most challenging and dangerous surf breaks in the world, located near Half Moon Bay, California. 

What makes Conacher's feat truly astonishing is the fact that he didn't start surfing until his 50s, wow! Most accomplished big wave surfers start from a very young age, honing their skills over decades of experience. For Conacher to achieve this milestone at an age when most people are contemplating retirement is nothing short of extraordinary.

Tune in for:

• Scene by scene account of what it takes to paddle into 30-40 foot waves, from an 'ordinary' surfer's point of view
• Training to survive hold-downs 20 feet under cold water 
• Finding balance with a grueling career as a Wall Street banker "plan your vacations first…"?
• Strategies on finding the perfect mentor / coach and community to fuel the journey 
• Setting audacious goals, and the dedication and joy that follows 
• Finally, my favorite, wear the 'Vulnerable Adult Learner' label with pride 

References:

Bianca Valenti - Reknowned big wave surfer and Lionel's coach who prepared him for Mavericks Link to Website

Barbarian Days by William Finnegan: This Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir explores the author's lifelong passion for surfing and his experiences at various surf breaks around the world. Link to Book

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

"It's not selfish to honor your ability 💪. While I can, I have an obligation to use my gifts and make my mark 🏆. Someday I won't be able to, so I'll make the most of the time I have ⏳."

Matt Eggleton, a former US Air Force veteran and accomplished endurance athlete, challenges age stereotypes by dominating the world of mountain biking. Despite discovering the sport in his 40s, Matt's dedication and discipline have propelled him to achieve impressive results in competitive races across the country. He's a 2x winner of the Stokesville Stoopid 50 (Smart 40, Master Men 50+) category, a 4th place finisher in the 2019 National Ultra Endurance (NUE) MTB Series Masters Division, and the Overall Winner of the 2019 Tour de Gravelly Masters Division. 

We cover:

1. Training regimens for mountain biking?
2. Power of habit stacking
3. Obligation to honor ones gifts
4. Safety….“Only spend on a helmet what your head’s worth” 🤩
5. Is yoga worthless for enduro sports? 🧘🏾 

References:

Matt’s website: https://www.eggleton.net/

Matt’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt.eggleton/

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

"What nature asks of us when we go outside is to be strong, is to use our cognitive faculties, to be nimble, to be exhilarated, and to be brave. All of that flies in the face of what we're told about our aging ." ⛰️ 💪🏾

Caroline Paul, a true renaissance woman, has spent her life shattering stereotypes and embracing adventure. 

In this episode, we journey alongside Caroline as she shares her remarkable experiences, from the remote landscapes of Siberia to the exhilarating waves of the Pacific Ocean. We discuss her latest book, "Tough Broad," and explore the transformative power of outdoor adventures for women (and men) as they age. 

Takeaways:

1. Embrace awe 🧘‍♀️ It can lower inflammation, boost positivity.
2. Assess real risks 🤷‍♂️ We often blow them out of proportion.
3. Find accountability buddies 🫂 They add fun, community, motivation!
4. Expand your comfort zone 💪 Small steps upend expectations.
5. Seek novelty 🏔 It's key for health, happiness and longevity.

Time to ditch narratives about "frailty" and get rad! 🚀

Resources:

Caroline Paul's Website: https://carolinepaul.com/

Caroline Paul on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolinembpaul/

Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking, How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age: [online or your favorite bookstore!]

The Gutsy Girl:  [online or your favorite bookstore!]

Dacher Keltner's Book on Awe: [Link to purchase book]

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

⛰️"It's the struggle on those 3,000 feet that matters, the journey IS the climb."🧗‍♀️

Hans Florine has a lifelong love affair with Yosemite's El Capitan, setting and breaking speed records on its iconic face, having climbed it almost 200 times. We talked about his climbing philosophy, staying safe on big walls, and what makes an ideal climbing partner.  Hans opened up about why he loves partnering with new people up El Cap and his passion for making climbing more accessible to everyone. 🧗‍♂️🧗‍♀️

We’ve great giveaways from Coros, Physivantage, and Hans Florine himself. Tune into the podcast for deets! 🎙️

1. ⛰️Power of visualization
2. 🧗 Do Hard Things (DHT) and TNT…what the heck??
3. 🤝 Hans’ tips for lifelong safety on the walls 
4. 🤪 Hans’ favorite and worst climbing partners LOL
5. 🥶Cryotherapy for Outdoor Athletes

References:

• Hans’ Instagram @hansflorine
• Hans’ website https://www.hansflorine.com/
• DHT Challenge https://www.dhtchallenge.com/ 
• Hans Florine 100 ascents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHktkAx9SFE&ab_channel=OutsideWatch
• On The Nose (co-authored with Jayme Moye @jaymemoye) https://www.hansflorine.com/?page_id=252
• Coros Smartwatches https://us.coros.com/watches
• Physivantage Nutrition https://physivantage.com

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

"Anything worth doing, is worth doing well"

Meet Wayne Willoughby- an adaptive rock climber who defied incredible odds and has climbed El Cap, not once, or twice, but a mind-boggling 26 times. 🧗‍♂️🏔️ From battling polio and disabilities since infancy, to suffering terrible injuries, Wayne overcame obstacle after obstacle. 99% of us will never climb El Cap. Wayne has done it not once, or twice, but a record 26 times. 💪

He also became the first adaptive climber to reach the summits of famous, grueling climbs like El Capitan and The Diamond in under 24 hours. ⚡

In this wondrous conversation, and with his infectious yet humble demeanor, Wayne opens up about how he developed the grit, creative problem-solving, and deep gratitude for life's simple gifts that empowered him to defy limitations. 💎

His stoke for the outdoors and sheer refusal to be held back, despite the punishing toll on his body, is straight-up inspiring. 🔥 Whether you're a crusty trad dad or just someone looking for an awesome story of perseverance to get pumped on, buckle up!

 🚀 This convo with a real-life superhero still defying the odds well into his 70s will challenge your perspective on what it means to be an elite athlete. 

More about Wayne:

•    The Indomitable Spirit of Wayne Willoughby 
•    Wayne Willoughby, Adaptive Climber, Continues to Defy Odds
•    The Humble Badass: Wayne Willoughby

Credits extended to:

1. Paradox Sports: https://paradoxsports.org/
2. Blue Water Ropes: https://www.bluewaterropes.com/

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

Why do we lose muscle as we age—and how much of that decline can strength training prevent?

Dr. Natasha Barnes is a former national champion climber, elite powerlifter, and clinician who has spent years helping athletes get stronger, recover from injury, and keep performing over time.

In this conversation, Natasha explains why strength training becomes increasingly important with age, what happens to muscle mass after 30, and why maintaining strength may be one of the most important things we can do for long-term physical performance.

We also cover:

• Why muscle loss accelerates as we get older
• How strength training helps preserve muscle and performance
• Why older adults may need more protein—not less
• The role of sleep, nutrition, stress, and training load in recovery
• Why many aches, pains, and injuries don’t require you to stop training
• When mobility work actually matters—and when it may be unnecessary
• How Natasha became stronger and more athletic in her 40s than she was when she was younger

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.

🌊"I ate 28 cals of chocolate for each mile paddled" 🌊

Katrin Tomanek is a true multi sport athlete who blends her career as a topnotch data scientist, with a passion for pushing physical and mental boundaries through uncommon solo adventures in wild and beautiful places. 

Born in Germany, and a former rock climber, the 44-year-old has quickly made a name with some remarkable accomplishments in kayaking and bicycling. Last year she finished a solo kayak trip that spanned over 52 days and with paddling 1,200 miles through the remote Alaskan Inside Passage. She also regularly undertakes bicycling quests such as self-supported bikepacking across the Andes, and also to Burning Man :) 

To me what makes Katrin’s feats remarkable are her thoughtful planning, her ability to learn from prior experiences, and the clutch one, to meticulously plan for any / all contingencies. 

Katrin's adventures are defined by foresight, spunk, endurance, and the ability to thrive in solo wilderness environments for weeks at a time. How do you avoid getting marooned during king tides, and dodge grizzlies in bear infested landings, listen on!

References:

Katrin's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/katrintomanek/

Katrin's blog https://k2ak23.medium.com/

💜 Want to stay strong, mobile, and capable for decades?
Join the Ageless Athlete newsletter — one useful email a week on how to build and protect strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, and the physical capacity to keep doing what you love as you get older.

Join here → https://www.agelessathlete.co/newsletter/

Timeline: Support cellular renewal and mitochondrial function with Mitopure, featuring Urolithin A. Get up to 20% off at timeline.com/AGELESSATHLETE

🚀 Love the show? Here’s how to support it 

If something you’ve heard here has stayed with you, made you smile, or helped you keep going, I’d be honored if you’d consider supporting the show. 👉 https://buymeacoffee.com/agelessathlete

Topics: longevity, fitness over 40, endurance training, aging athletes, recovery, injury prevention

Ageless Athlete is a podcast about healthy aging for people who want to stay strong, active and capable for life. Conversations explore strength, endurance, mobility, recovery, VO2 max, muscle and bone health, and what it takes to keep doing the things you love as you get older.

Follow Ageless Athlete — How to Stay Strong, Curious & Capable for Life for new episodes each week.