RIDING LYNX
I enjoy riding trails on a Rave RE 600R snowmobile. Rave RE is top-notch in terms of rideability and I especially value how consistent it is in varying trail circumstances. Maneuverability is continuously maintained on the ski and the stance is just right for me. My sled has a stud track, which brings with it a certain feeling of safety when riding on icy trails. My favorite way to go snowmobiling is to go on long trail rides with a good crew of friends. We take off early in the morning and ride for whatever time which feels good—say from Levi to Kilpisjärvi, for example. My speed has evened out with age, and mutual competition while riding is in the past. Now I can admire the fell scenery and take a moment to appreciate the sunshine during rides. In those moments I feel a great sense of freedom and I can take my mind off everyday life. Nowadays, in our riding crew, we put effort into accessorizing our sleds and as such a lot of things that improve riding comfort have started to appear on them. You can attach two LinQ boxes back to back on a Rave RE, which is a very handy feature in terms of transporting baggage and extra fuel. To me, Lynx snowmobiles mean Finnishness and I feel great pride about that, equally with the Finnish, especially Lapland’s, nature and winter.
STARTING OUT
My uncle used to have a powersport shop in Southern Finland, and I could borrow small snowmobiles from there as a kid. I also got to ride around my father’s home region in Rovaniemi everytime we visited Lapland. There even is a picture of me sitting on a Lynx as an 8-year-old. That time we rode around the lot until we ran out of gas.
I’ve tried to instill that same joy of moving outdoors into my own children. It doesn’t matter whether we’re skating, sledding or playing ball: the main thing is that we’re spending time without our smart gadgets!
As a grownup, I got into sledding particularly as a sport. During my active career as a race driver I rode some sled races in enduro amateur class, and there always were a lot of people with similar interests around.
SISU
Sisu, a Finnish spunk, is something that is rooted in being Finnish very strongly. To me, it means not giving up and a right kind of attitude even in various situations. On long rides you can face surprising circumstances and challenges, like one time when the temperature suddenly dropped below -35 degrees celsius mid-trip. But we managed that with good gear and a certain humor-tinged attitude. It won’t help to just keep cursing at a time like that, instead you need to focus your energy into things that keep things going forward.
