VICTORIA Point resident Betty Wiles in not slowing down now that she has passed her 90th birthday.
The Adventist Retirement Village resident wakes every morning a 4am for a spot of housework before jumping on her mountain bike and doing laps of the complex like an Olympic pro.
Ms Wiles said her daily exercise routine, which started back in 2003 after losing her mother to Alzheimer's disease, was keeping her young in heart and mind.
Her daily ride is so vigorous she has already gone through a bike donated by her family.
Other residents are so in awe of her drive they peel back their curtains in the early hours of the morning just to take a peek as she rides past.
"I lived with my husband at Ormeau at an over 50s resort and that was when I picked it up," Ms Wiles said.
"I have not stopped since and don't plan on stopping.
"We have a lake here (at the complex) and I used to ride around that 10 times.
"Now it is more like six times because I haven't got time to do 10."
Ms Wiles spent about 10 years caring for her mother during her battle with Alzheimer's disease in the 1990s.
She also spent time caring for her great uncle and auntie while they went through their own health battles.
Ms Wiles said her mother's dementia developed from her loneliness while living on her own in Allora, an outback town in the Darling Downs.
"People said we would never be able to look after her, she will be too much for you," she said.
"But we did. She died at home."
Daughter Dorelle Watts said Ms Wiles' human touch meant she could have been a nurse.
"She has sat with so many dying people," she said.
"She is a natural carer. I don't know how she does it."
Ms Wiles continues to volunteer her time at the retirement village, talking to people who are going through hard times.
She also boosts spirits with her doll display, which is rearranged eight times a year for special occasions.
The story goes that Ms Wiles approached management to have an old servery turned into a display case for her porcelain dolls, most of which were made in the 1980s and 90s.
Other residents told her she would not get the $700 she wanted to complete the build, but such is Ms Wiles charm, they could not turn her away.
Doll making remains one of her biggest passions, as does writing newsletters to keep the residents at the village in the know.
She will celebrate her 90th birthday at Victoria Point Tavern with family on Saturday.
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