Life is better when you're in motion. Just ask Masu Kusume Dyer. She rarely stops moving. A tennis player most of her life, Dyer decided a few years ago to add walking to her routine.

Two years ago, she added kayaking.

Last summer, she threw bicycling into the mix. She had recently returned from hiking Mount Fuji, and afternoon bike rides sounded fun.

Out of breath yet?

Not Dyer, who turned 73 in April. She has plans.

"Someday I would like to go back surfing again like I used to do at Waik•k• while I was in college," Dyer said. "That's my wish, anyway."

A Kailua resident and retired former co-owner of the moving company M. Dyer & Sons, Dyer believes that the more active she can be, the more she will enjoy her life.

So she starts early, sometimes 5 a.m. She'll read for an hour, then hit the pavement for a "power walk" that sometimes finds her striding up Mškapu Saddle Road or along the sandy curve of Kailua Bay.

"I try to jog here and there but I walk fast, about 14 minutes a mile," she said. "That isn't bad for my age."

Paddling her kayak the length of Kawainui Channel near her home - an hour-plus journey - never fails to boost Dyer's spirits, even though too much of that good thing can take the edge off her tennis game.

"It is so peaceful," Dyer said. "It is so nice. Sometimes there is a lawnmower or construction, but it is usually so peaceful, and I love every minute of it."

Dyer's trek up Mount Fuji - which at 12,388 feet is Japan's highest peak - stands as one of the few times she was stopped in her tracks. She got within 1,000 feet of the summit.

But she has a plan. Of course.

"The oldest woman who ever climbed Mount Fuji was 91, so I figured I would wait until I am 92," she said. "I am a very positive, wishful person."

MASU KUSUME DYER

Age: 73

Profession: Retired former co-owner of M. Dyer & Sons

Residence: Kailua

Height: 5-feet-3

Weight: 120 pounds

Workout habits: Tennis two to three times a week. Morning walks nearly every day. Kayaking twice a week, weather permitting. Afternoon bicycle rides.

Why ask why: "If you are fit, you feel good. You enjoy your life more. Actually, by doing exercise, you have more energy."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.