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Bikers with a mission Story and photos by Dick Peterson. When Jesus told his followers to go and preach the gospel, could it be he was sending some of them to biker rallies on Harleys, and dressed in leather and denim? Clinical equipment specialist Lana Beckley, a registered nurse and physical therapist, thinks so. And so does information resource coordinator Cal Lindeman, Department of Pediatrics. About 40 Mission Riders pray for safety before heading out on a Thursday evening ride. The trip usually concludes at an ice cream and coffee shop. Both are local chapter members of Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA), a national non-profit, interdenominational group out of Hatfield, Ark. Beckley and her husband, Steve, and Lindeman with his wife, Val, belong to a Lowcountry CMA chapter called Mission Riders. “We go to the biker rallies to befriend bikers and help them,” Beckley said. At the Myrtle Beach rally CMA South Carolina sets up a stand in front of the local Harley Davidson shop (prime real estate, according to Lindeman) and gives out cups of cold water with a salvation prayer on the cup. “If they want to come back and talk to us about Jesus, we’re here to talk to them,” Beckley said. Cal Lindeman, left, his wife, Val, with Steve and Lana Beckley. A love for motorcycles and riding the open road create a common bond among bikers, Lindeman said. They come to rallies to be together, share experiences and compare bikes. But handing out cold water in the summer and hot coffee in the fall is just a small part of what Mission Riders is all about. “Some of us are experienced motorcycle mechanics,” he said, recalling one night at a Myrtle Beach rally when a few CMAers assisted in disassembling and reassembling an engine to get a rally participant back on the road that night. A couple of bikers chat with a CMA-er at the “free coffee” stand set up at the Myrtle Beach rally. “We hand out cards with our home phone numbers on them, and we do get call-backs,” Lindeman said. “Sometimes in the middle of the night, when someone is riding through the area and breaks down, one of us will get a call. If we can’t fix it on the road, one of our members with a trailer is there to take it to the shop for repairs. “If we can be there when we’re needed—say what you want—it’s our actions that speak for us.” At the Myrtle Beach rally, Mission Riders looked for ways to pay back for the prime spot they are given each year at the Harley dealership. “At first we decided to pick up litter, but the owner didn’t want us doing that,” Lindeman said. “So now we give the people directing traffic in the parking lot a break or we help them direct traffic for the day. It’s fun, and we meet so many more people.” CMA members follow a calling to God's work to wear their CMA “colors.” Beckley was first introduced to CMA by going to a Bible study with Steve, whom she later married. “There were people there from every walk of life, but they were all CMA members. I was the only non-biker.” From there she caught the bug.  “It feels so good to have the wind in your face, to enjoy the sunshine and smells of roadside flowers,” she said, adding that she would rather ride with her arms around her husband than ride her own motorcycle. “But more and more women do ride their own bikes. We have three or four in our chapter,” she said. Lindeman sees women riders as a growing group within the motorcycle community. “Many women are abused today, and many of them ride bikes. We’re there to let the woman rider know that Jesus is there for her, and she is an important individual.” “The coffee's free. We only ask that you read the cup. If you have any questions, we're here. Just ask us,” Lindeman says as he fills a cup  outside the Harley Davidson shop during the Myrtle Beach rally. Beckley explained that although Jesus no longer walks the earth, the Holy Spirit can work through people like those in the Mission Riders to show women that God loves them and they are worthy of being loved. Lindeman said he has seen the peace of knowing God’s love when he has been in the Children’s Hospital atrium.  “I’ve heard a little child comfort his parents by telling them, ‘It’s okay, because God is with me.’ That’s peace.” One of the Mission Riders directs bikers into a rapidly filling Harley shop parking lot while Val Lindeman moves an orange traffic cone. The Christian Motorcyclists Association doesn’t hard-sell Christianity to bikers. Instead, the Mission Riders are there to help with a cup of water when it’s hot or coffee when it’s cold, or mechanical assistance when it’s needed. And as always, with a prayer.  Beckley recalled a time when she approached a woman who was in tears upon finding out the couple she left her daughter with were in jail, and her daughter was missing. “Prayer was all I could offer her, but it gave her the strength she needed,” Beckley said. Beckley said there are a number of bikers at the Medical University. “I mean a number of them, and from all professions. They know I ride with CMA, and when a biker victim comes into their care, they call me and let me know.” She visits them, talks to them and lets them know that somebody is praying for them. Being bikers gives them a common bond.  Lindeman recalled an e-mail he received about a biker and his wife who were in an accident.  “They flew him from some little hospital between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach to some hospital in Charleston. That’s all they knew. I’ll find out where he is and stop by to see what we can do, maybe relay information back and forth to his wife so he’ll know how she’s doing.” “We’re just messengers,” Beckley said. “That’s all we are, just messengers.”     On the Side MUSC is full of people who do extraordinary things, both at work and “On the Side.” Whether it's climbing a mountain or helping the community, we'd like to know what these folks are up to when they leave the campus. If you know someone who should be featured, e-mail catalyst@musc.edu. Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.