LABOR OF LOVE

HOUSTON — With bright sunshine sparkling off the stark-white snow, the Valentine’s Day setting was ideal for one of the purest expressions of love — the bond between a man and his snowmachine.

Sunday’s Vintage Snowmachine Valentine X-Country Race and Fun Run drew dozens to the snow behind Houston Lodge to race their machines 25 years and older. And like pampering that true love of one’s life on a special day, many spent hours prior to the event primping and priming their vintage racers.

Jim Miller was repairing a broken pull start on his 440 Pantera Arctic Cat and said that, although it was Valentine’s Day, it was also Sunday, “and Sunday’s race day.”

With his wife at work, the plans are “to go out to dinner after racing,” he said.

Like maintaining a long-lasting relationship, keeping the vintage snowmachines in running order can be hard work. While Miller was repairing his pull start, 17-year-old Collin Clayton was using electrical tape and “whatever’s available” to fix a broken throttle on his mid-1970s Yamaha 300.

“Well, we put this (machine) together last night,” he said. “Then the throttle cable broke when I was riding it up here, so we’re just trying to fix it with what we have. There’s a piece of baling wire in there.”

Apparently, the repair didn’t hold, as K.C. Cabana of Wasilla came around after his first lap carrying Clayton on his sled. Cabana easily won his heat while bringing in two other riders who experienced mechanical problems on the course.

Which is part of the challenge and allure of racing vintage snowmachines, said Craig Clayton, Collin’s father and organizer of the event.

“Everybody’s got two or three (vintage snowmachines) behind their shed,” he said. “We’re just trying to get people from off their couches and support racing at a grassroots level. These are for fun.”

There’s no prize money and the entry fees are just enough to cover modest trophies to award the winners, which is what keeps the hometown and neighborly feel of the Alaska Motor Mushers Club/Wasilla Racing Lions, which supports vintage racing.

But that doesn’t mean there can’t be exciting moments on the trail. The finish of Sunday’s 341-500cc class was won by Mike Hardy by less than a second.

“They both literally passed me right as they came out on the lake toward the finish,” Craig Clayton said. “One jumped on my right, one jumped on my left and they banged all the way to the finish line.”

Daniel Pruski was confident before racing began. The 17-year-old Wasilla resident said his 1981 521 Blizzard can reach some good top speeds.

“I hope I can win, for sure,” he said, adding he would also be as likely to dump his sled along the way. “Most likely, yeah, I’ll dump it. It’s really light, so it might be a little sketchy.”

As for 17-year-old Andrew Morgan of Wasilla, he was able to spend part of his Valentine’s Day with his true love.

“My girlfriend’s at work, so I came up here to race my sled,” he said. “My goal is to go as fast as I can go and try and top it out without breaking it.”

So, Andrew, what’s your true love, your snowmachine or your girlfriend?

“I don’t know, that question’s kind of hard.”

Your answer might be in the newspaper.

“Oh, it’s my girlfriend then.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.