HAYDEN - Motorcycle riding can be a little slice of hog heaven.

Just ask 94-year-old Betty Lokay.

"It's been quite a life," Lokay said. "I've had a fantastic 95 years."

Lokay turns 95 June 27, and she loves riding.

Lokay met Chery Cooper, 67, in the parking lot of Lokay's apartment complex Saturday. Lokay was dolled up in red, from her head wrap and ruffled scarf down to her red pants. Lokay cheerfully greeted some friends and showed off a few photos as she prepared to hop onto Cooper's Honda Goldwing Trike for her birthday ride.

"She's a sweet lady," Cooper said. "I was just so taken with her."

Cooper and Lokay initially met about a month ago outside a hardware store in Hayden. When Cooper exited the store, she found Lokay admiring her Trike.

"Of course I had to stop and look at it," Lokay said. The two chatted, and Cooper found Lokay to be a "lovely and spritely 'young' lady," Cooper said in an email.

Cooper said she was sold when Lokay told her, "Sex is heaven, but riding a bike is hog heaven!"

"I thought, 'This woman is going to get her 95th birthday (ride) for sure," Cooper said with a hearty laugh.

Cooper and Lokay cruised south on Government Way to Prairie Avenue and around to Honesuckle Avenue. They briefly returned to the complex parking lot, and drove out again to visit Doc Holiday's Saloon and Grill, where Lokay enjoys karaoke with a friend once a week. She and Cooper stopped right outside the door and visited for a bit.

Lokay has somewhat of a tradition of birthday rides. For her 87th birthday, her motorcycle-riding Realtor in California took her for "oh, a nice long ride," Lokay said.

Then, when she turned 90, the Red Hat Society presented her with a ride on a three-wheeler similar to Cooper's.

It was just natural that Cooper continue the tradition by taking Lokay out for a brief birthday cruise.

"It was so kind that she would offer to take me for a ride, gosh," Lokay said.

Lokay rode a BMW and a Vespa when she lived in California, and since she moved to Idaho 16 years ago, said she has been eyeing all the motorcycles on the roads. She began riding in the 1960s. She said it really is like heaven.

"When she said she rode, and that she was 94 and she wanted a ride for her 95th birthday, I thought, 'We have to do this,'" Cooper said.

Cooper is a member of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA), an organization that promotes "fun, knowledge and safety." She said members have a sense of helping one another and have a sense of camaraderie with all bikers.

"We'll be friends for the rest of our lives," Lokay said.

"That's right," Cooper said. "Forever and ever."

Lokay underwent surgery Wednesday to remove a patch of melanoma. Through diabetes, kidney stones, skin cancer, and even briefly being kidnapped as a child, Lokay's spirit is vibrant and healthy.

"I just bounce back from anything that happens to me," she said.

She attributes part of her longevity to eating healthy and good genes. Many of the women in her family lived to be at least 90.

Keeping a positive attitude is one secret to Lokay's long life. She smiles a lot, and follows her father's advice to find the good in people.

She also remembers to have a little fun.

"When you do things for fun, it gives you energy," Lokay said. She plans to use photos from the birthday ride in Christmas cards she sends this year.

"I'll send it to everybody in California," she said.