A great-grandmother who is mad for motorcycles was granted her birthday wish to ride on the back of a Harley-Davidson – a call-back to her youth while celebrating turning 90.
Fearless Brit Barbara Morris said she “felt 21 again” during her spin around town on the powerful American cruising bike.
She mentioned to her family several years ago that if she made it to 90, she’d like to get back in the saddle one last time.
She was left stunned when her sons arrived recently at her nursing home with members of a local biker group. Though wearing a dress, she had no concerns about straddling the bike right there on the spot, before taking a trip with 13 other riders to a pub.
“I just felt the years melt away,” said the great-grandmother of six. “It was just an incredible experience to feel the wind blowing in my face again.”
Barbara got her first motorcycle license as a teen in the 1950s. She’s pictured below with her best friend Mac.
Her granddaughter Kirsty Harvey, 34, who helped organize the surprise for Barbara along with the local biker chapter of Widows Sons, said the inspiring senior had a ‘daredevil spirit’ and wasn’t fazed by anything.
“My uncle said to her ‘You always said if you made it to 90, you wanted to go on a Harley,’ and then she said, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you remember that’.”
“She’s got nerves of steel, she’s not really afraid of anything. She’s kind of from that generation that was made of tough stuff. Nothing really fazes them.”
Barbara got her first bike, a Royal Enfield 350, when she was about 19, and used it to get around while in college. She quickly caught the bug for riding, which she then passed on to the rest of her family.
“She always had a little bike that she nipped about on. Her three sons later all had motorbikes and a keen interest in motorbike racing and groups.”
To ride on a powerful Harley-Davidson was made all the more special because she’d never been on one before.
80+ Kids Surprised with New Bikes(Opens in a new browser tab)
Kirsty explained how they brought in the staff at the Ambleside Bank Residential Home in Manchester to organize the surprise. “They permed her hair and did her make-up, and got her dressed up nicely.”
“She can’t see very well, so they had to take her right up to the bike, and when she realized what it was, her face was ‘just a picture’.
“She thought it was just a nice bike to look at, and when we actually told her she was going on, she was a bit speechless. She couldn’t believe it.”
