As my ears flood with the whine of snowmobile engines, I step onto a flooded fairground, one imagines an ice-skating rink. Carefully stepping to avoid falling, I wonder why I was the only one having trouble walking. As I looked at everyone around me, I came to the conclusion that it was because I wasn’t dressed for the occasion. I came in leggings, a dress, and leather boots. Not typical winter gear such as ski pants and jacket, toque, and winter boots.
I cruise down Main Street, taking in what Beausejour has to offer, seizing the sights. And by sights I mean the grain elevator, a Chinese food eatery, and the crematorium. Next stop, the half-mile flooded oval track at the Canadian Power Toboggan Championships (CPTC) raceplex.
Glen Kaatz, president of the CPTC, is happy with the nearly 200 entries, some coming from as far away as Michigan. “You meet a lot of really good people here, lifelong friends,” says Kaatz.
Kaatz introduced me to his friend from Sauk Centre, Minnesota, PJ Wanderscheid, CPTC’s 2010 champion. The 27-year-old four-time Eagle River World Champion says, “A lot of the good guys come here, like Garry Moyle, all the fastest are here.”
“This is one of those races you want to put on your resume. I’d like to make it two years in a row,” says Wanderscheid, remembering last year’s CPTC win.
It felt like I was being welcomed back home when I was greeted by a group of older gentlemen who ushered me inside a shack that I randomly walked in to. No one questioned why I was there, they just volunteered to take me the best spots to take pictures, and filled my plate with warm cinnamon buns and perogies.
Andy, Gary, soft-spoken-Kenny, Ivan, John, and ‘Red Beard’ are rough looking men, but are the sweetest guys you could spend a day with in a small shack probably only 100 square feet. “Eat, eat,” insisted ‘Red Beard.’ Even though I never find out his real name, it just seemed natural to call him ‘Red Beard’ as he insisted I do. I even feel comfortable enough to call him ‘Yellow Beard’ because of all the mustard he had dripped onto it.
We sat eating our perogies watching the races in the warmth of the shack, occasionally stepping outside to inspect a sled or to snap a few pictures. The races went off without a hitch except during the last race of the day when 25-year-old racer, Dustin Wahl, was injured in a crash, suffering a broken leg and ankle.
Wanderscheid did win, beating out some pretty big names in snowmobile racing, and will return again next year to defend his two-year reign. After 13 years of racing, Wanderscheid says, “There is nothing like going over a hundred miles an hour on a sled, I will be here for many years to come.”
Beausejour is 45 minutes northeast of Winnipeg and more information on the town and its attractions can be found at ourhomeyourhome.ca. Information on the CPTC and their events can be found at cptcracing.com/info.
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