The Challenge of the Ride

“I’ll drop off one of the new machines for you and Irene to ride”, says my friend for at least the fourth time this winter.

“Oh, that’s ok, don’t bother”, is my automatic reply.

We’re referring to a snowmobile.  At the lake, we have two of the earliest Skidoo Elans, short, light, tippy and a challenge to ride. With a with a single cylinder, 250cc (12 HP) engine that sounds like it’s always gasping for air, it was the preferred transportation for trappers all over the north since Bombardier first produced it in 1971.

It is part of the history of the north. It is immersed in northern folklore and its familiar image graced a postage stamp in the Antarctic.  A Newfoundland folk singing group with the unlikely name of  “Buddy Wasisname and Other Fellers” has immortalized it in their rendition of The 12 Elan Song.  A typical verse goes like this:

 I use her getting firewood, she’d haul some awful loads,
And when them big machines bog down she gives them all a tow.
I can lift her, she don’t need reverse, there’s no place she can’t go!
She’s been shot mistaken for a moose because she was so slow.

The chorus typically describes the noisy machine better than I can.

Oh the Elan goes bang, bang, bang. Oh the Elan goes Bump!
Oh the Elan goes tumpity, tumpity. B’fang, b’fang, habber d’habber.
Toppity bim, toppity bim, topp topp topp. T’tttump, t’t'tump.

I believe the Elan went out of production in 1987, the 50th year of snow machine production for Bombardier who first obtained a patent for the “B7 Snowmobile” in 1937. The Elan is a challenge to operate and a four-hour excursion is akin to a good workout at the local gym. A pair of earmuffs helps to muffle the “bang, tumpity, toppity bim”.  The best way to ride it is with one foot on the running board and the other knee on the small seat. This allows you to lean either way to direct and balance the machine.  If you do involuntarily leave the trail, no problem, just pick one end up and lift it back on to the track. It’s a lightweight! It also seems to go forever on a tank of gas.

“The skis are just along for the ride”, I normally tell my friends that have the gumption to come on a trip with me. “You’ll have to lean into the turn to control it except when you’re in the deeper snow.” They nod wisely but it isn’t until they’ve been on it for a while and tried a few turns that they get the true meaning of my casual instruction.

The new machines are heavy, long, comfortable and quiet. They start at the push of a button, have shock absorbers, heated handgrips and thumb warmers. They can travel at speeds that are totally impractical and dangerous and they also have a reverse gear. I personally like the challenge of the Elan ride, the time it gives me to explore the country and I like the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when the ride is done. 

“Well’ my friend offers, “maybe next year I’ll make sure we have one of the new machines for Irene to ride.”

“Yeah”, I counter. “Next winter for sure.