By John Counts
Usually when you see a Harley, it’s carrying a burly biker you may not want to cross paths with.
But on Wednesday, Rick Popchock’s passenger was anything but that.
His cargo was Lake Orion village resident 95-year-old Pat Elliot, who was on her first motorcycle ride ever.
Though dressed in the requisite outfit of a black leather with a patch emblazoned on it, boots and a helmet, Elliot was anything but fierce.
Nothing could mask the sweetness and vivaciousness of the ebullient, diminutive woman who said she might even wear her helmet to church on Sunday in the hopes that people might call her ‘Motorcycle Mama.?
How Elliot ended up on the back of Popchock’s Harley started at Lake Orion United Methodist Church, where both attend along with Popchock’s wife, Nancy.
The three were at a recent church function, a corn roast, when they began talking about Rick’s love of riding motorcycles.
‘I’ve never touched a motorcycle, let alone ridden one,? said Elliot, who’s lived in Lake Orion since 1951.
In fact, her only experience with motorcycles was during her long career as an emergency room nurse. Elliot worked at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital most recently.
‘I would have to pull the pebbles out of motorcycle accidents,? she said. ‘That was a terrible job.?
While at the church corn roast, Elliot wanted to make sure Rick wore all the proper protective clothing like leather, jeans, boots and a helmet.
He assured her he did. Rick and Nancy asked Elliot if she wanted to take a ride on the Harley after they found out she’d never been on a motorbike.
To their surprise, she agreed.
So, on September 2, Elliot took her first motorcycle ride. The Harley took off from her village condominium complex amid shouts of encouragement from friends and fellow members of the Methodist church.
Elliot went the planned distance, all the way down Orion Road to Rochester Road and back. She was ecstatic when she returned. ‘It was wonderful. I didn’t know it would so much fun,? Elliot said.