Woman takes her first ever motorcycle ride; To her 101st birthday party

HOMER, Neb. (KTIV) - It’s the ride of a lifetime. Clara Maurice took her first-ever ride on a motorcycle for her birthday on Wednesday.

That was her 101st birthday, and she was surrounded by four generations of her family as she arrived in style. Maurice was all decked out in biker gear.

She had here leather jacket, she had her helmet, and she had her family, including her great-great niece along for the ride. And an epic ride, it was.

“Really, I wasn’t that worried about it,” Maurice said with a smile. “Really, I didn’t worry about it.”

Karen Paulsen worried. She works for Continental Springs, an assisted living facility. Paulsen was tasked with putting this all together.

“It’s such a relief that ‘oh it all came together.’ It went well,” Paulsen said. “People showed up.”

One of those people is Tom Roberts. He volunteered to drive the Honda motorcycle after he was asked by a family friend.

“Her dream has always been to be on a motorcycle,” Roberts said. “The story goes that her late husband had no interest in motorcycles or anything. So somehow I’m here today.”

Roberts took Maurice out of South Sioux City down to Homer, Nebraska, where the procession sauntered through town, ending in a second birthday celebration.

Dozens of people packed into the St. Cornelius church in Homer on Wednesday. And those who know Maurice say that’s a testament to a life well lived.

“That she’s very loved, friendly, outgoing, and that she’s here for plenty more time,” said Selena Lara, an employee with Continental Springs.

Maurice summed up the experience.

“Really, I felt like I was just going riding with someone,” she said, drawing laughter from the party guests.

Now, Maurice rides to her next birthday: 102. For that birthday, her family says they might take her on a train, or even a plane.