CALEB NICKERSON
QUYON Feb. 18, 2018
On Feb. 18, a pack of snowmobilers fired up their old Super Twins and sent it across the Ottawa River from Ontario, roaring into Quyon around mid-day. The 12th annual Old Sled Run and Vintage Snowmobile Show, as it is known, attracted 89 riders and machines from every conceivable era.
Participants started out in Constance Bay, Ont. with a fundraiser breakfast at the West Carleton Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, hosted by Ottawa Ward 5 Councillor Eli El-Chantiry. They then mounted their snowmobiles and headed for Gavan’s Hotel.
Pontiac Snowmobile Drivers’ Association (PSDA) member Jeff Campbell helped coordinate the Quebec portion of the run with the event’s organizer, Mike O’Reilly.
“These runs, I’ve been involved for six years,” Campbell said, explaining that he helps set up the trail markings and monitor conditions. “The president [Alain Goulet] was supposed to come but he was out grooming the trails last night because they have to freeze. He’s home having a sleep and he’s going to come out afterward.”
Both Campbell and O’Reilly agreed that the trails were pristine and the weather could not have been more accomodating.
“It was a gorgeous day in the Ottawa Valley,” O’Reilly wrote in an email, thanking both the PSDA and the staff at Gavan’s for their help.
John Glinski, an 84-year-old diehard from North Bay, Ont., was the oldest to make the run, on one of the oldest machines in the pack: a 1967 Ski-Doo.
“It’s my son’s, but I had one when I was a kid,” he said. When asked how the aging sled performs, Glinski chuckled and said it was “pretty rough.”
Campbell, who has a personal collection of 14 snow machines, said he enjoys the run because of the variety as well as nostalgia for his youth.
“Kids don’t realize that … back in the 70s, there were probably 70 manufacturers of snowmobiles, now there’s four: Arctic Cat, Polaris, Yamaha and Ski-Doo,” he explained. “Back in the 70s, if they made a tractor, they made a snowmobile.” After soaking up the sun, the group again mounted up and ripped back to the Legion for a dinner and the awards, which were given as follows:
Long Distance: Nancy and Jonathan Porter, Bridgewater, N.S.
Youngest Rider: Zach Dinel, age 11, Luskville, Qc.
Oldest Rider: John Glinski, age 84, North Bay, Ont.
Oldest Machine: Justin Blimkie, 1963 Hus-ski, Chalk River, Ont.
Second Oldest: John Glinski, 1967 Skidoo, North Bay, Ont.
Best Rare Iron: Allan Lowry, 1970 Ariens Arrow, Almonte, Ont.
Second Rare Iron: Harold Rook, 1969 Skidoo Nordic, Carp, Ont.
Best Rat Sled: Kerrington Blackburn, 1970 Olympic, Carleton Place, Ont.
Second Rat Sled: Mike Rekowski, 1971 SnowCruiser, Renfrew, Ont.
Best Resto-Mod: Richard Hiley, 1970 Massey Ferguson, North Gower, Ont.
Second Resto-Mod:: Vincent Lamothe, 1972 Bobcat SS, Luskville, Oc.
Best Vintage Suit: Mark Trahan SnoJet, Petawawa, Ont.
Second Vintage Suit: Dave “Woody” Percival, Yamaha Bravo, Perth, Ont.
Loudest Pipes: Dave Blackburn, 1970 Olympic, Carleton Place, Ont.
Councillors Choice: Ryan Baird, 1978 John Deere Liquifire, Carp, Ont.
Award of Merit: Jeff Campbell, Lots of Polaris’, Quyon, Qc.
