Minister, father proud to be a H.O.G.

June 18, 2006

By DAWN DE BUSK

Frontiersman

PALMER - As soon as each of his five children grew tall enough to put their feet on the pegs, Doug Boyd took them on his motorcycle for a spin around the neighborhood.

His grown-up daughter, Havilah McMeans, moved back to Alaska while her husband is stationed in Japan.

&#8220One of the great things about coming back home was that I was coming at the beginning of the riding season. I was early enough in my pregnancy that I could still ride and not be off balance,” said McMeans on Saturday, who is due to have her first child, a son, in September.

McMeans quit riding on the back of motorcycles about three weeks ago, and found it tough to watch Saturday's parade of Harleys instead of riding with her parents.

Around noon on Saturday, McMeans, along with her dad and mom, Shelly, basked in the summertime heat at the Alaska State Fair Grounds, the site of the 13th annual statewide Harley-Davidson Owners Group rally. McMeans munched on french fries and toted around some bottled water while her father readied to visit a riding buddy who was a patient at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

Getting to his destination was delayed repeatedly. Before Doug Boyd reached his motorcycle, parked only a few hundred feet away, he encountered old friends.

&#8220A lot of people know my dad,” McMeans

commented.

The Eagle River minister, who works for Matanuska Telephone Association in Palmer, leads Alliance Christian Fellowship and the In The Wind Bike Chapter.

Doug Boyd gets a kick out of people's reactions when they hear he's a minister and rides a Harley.

&#8220There's still kind of a misconception. The old idea of the biker is still there. When I tell people I ride, it doesn't equate,” he said.

&#8220I love it though,” McMeans said. &#8220In a way, it shows that not all Christians are uptight and strict.”

McMeans said her husband-to-be was scared to meet her father after seeing a photo of him - all decked out in his leather riding gear and long gray beard.

&#8220I told him, ‘Don't be. They're really neat people.'” she said.

One of the best attributes of her parents was that Doug and Shelly Boyd truly listened to their kids, McMeans said.

&#8220Any problems we were having, my parents were there. Because that's how I was raised, that's how I'll raise my child,” she said.

Doug Boyd purchased his first Harley-Davidson for his 50th birthday, and proudly put 15,000 miles on it during last year's riding season.

&#8220One of the things I like about riding my motorbike is that you can smell everything. This time of year, when I'm coming out of Eklutna with the irises on the flats, it smells so good. And you can smell them before you see them,” he said, likening the scent to lilacs. &#8220It smells great. I'd like to say it's my aftershave, but it isn't.”

About three years ago, Shelly Boyd, who had ridden on the back of motorcycles for 25 years, got licensed, and hasn't been on the back of a bike since.

Except to pick up her bike from the shop, Doug Boyd recalled.

McMeans said she'll probably get her motorcycle endorsement, or license, next summer. She said she prefers to take in all the scenery as a passenger.

Although McMeans can't remember her first motorcycle-riding experience specifically, she remembered looking forward to long road trips with her father. The love of motorcycles is something McMeans envisions passing down to her son, and she can't wait until his legs are long enough to reach the pegs of grandpa's Harley.

Doug Boyd also wants to extend that opportunity to his grandchildren.

&#8220It's the other side of freedom,” Doug Boyd said. &#8220True freedom is trusting Christ. The other is riding bikes with the wind in your face. I want them to know that.”

Apparently, the motorcycle lifestyle has its own lingo that bridges generations.

&#8220When one of our granddaughters was around 18-months-old and just starting to learn to talk, whenever she heard the sound of a motorbike, she would say, ‘Mo-mikel, mo-mikel,'” Shelly Boyd said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252, or dawn.debusk@ frontiersman.com.