Team Maine making waves and gunning hard in defence of Cain's Quest title

It's a Monday night in Andrew Milley's garage, and the Wabush resident is in his element.

A wrench in his hand, a stripped-down snowmobile suspension in front of him, and a smile on his face.

Three other guys are also busy, sawing bolts, pumping a grease gun, hauling on a chain lift.

Two mean-looking and expensive snowmobiles take up most of the floor space, hoods covered in stickers and skis pointed toward the door, as if poised to leap into the fresh snow outside.

It's crunch time for Milley and his teammate, American Rob Gardner.

They are Team Maine, defending champions at this year's Cain's Quest snowmobile endurance race in Labrador, and arguably the most outspoken and divisive of the record 41 entries preparing for the start of the daunting 3,200-kilometre race, which gets underway at noon on Friday.

As quick with their tongues as they are on the course, Milley and Gardner have emerged as the team everybody loves to hate at the biennial Cain's Quest.

I'm not going to quit if I'm not doing well, but my only real objective is to win.-  Andrew Milley, Cain's Quest racer

It's because they're good, have deep pockets, and say whatever is on their minds.

"I'm not going to quit if I'm not doing well, but my only real objective is to win," said Milley, who works as an industrial mechanic at the iron ore mine when he's not tuning up snowmobiles or facing down the worst terrain and weather Labrador has to offer.

But it's Milley's American partner who sets the standard when it comes to confidence and bombast.

"I'm definitely not the most liked guy in the race," said Gardner, a 44-year-old from a small town called Mercer, Maine who's been competing in Cain's Quest since 2007.

Gardner was suspended from participating in the 2014 race, but came back with a vengeance and teamed up with Milley to win it all in 2016.

Now he's back again, and as brash as ever.

It's all on Facebook

This time he brought a small airplane to provide support to his team, and that's just adding more fuel to the fire.

"Have you not heard of Facebook?" he asked. "Everything that happens in this town is because of me or this or that, or how much money people think I've got. They ain't got a blessed clue, right. You name it, we've been accused of it. Ain't none of it true."

Gardner is the lone American in the field, and has turned some heads with his opinions and tactics. He's a target on social media, with some saying he's trying to buy his way to another championship, and allege that his win-at-all-cost attitude is tainting the spirit of the event.

He knows his presence is wearing thin on some people.

"When I came here in 2007 I couldn't say enough good about the people of Labrador … and the warm reception and how I was treated. That all phased away pretty quickly when we started doing well in the race," he said.

But he's quick to add that he loves Labrador and plans to purchase property in the Big Land.

"We still have awesome relations with a lot of good people."

Like most with a Type A personality, Gardner is a showman, and uses all the criticism as motivation.

In 2016, Gardner and Milley were the 36th team to leave the starting line in Labrador City, but arrived in Churchill Falls 22 minutes ahead of everyone else, which set the tone for the rest of the race.

"We were upset and mad and had enough," Milley said of the critics.

Gardner 'good for the race'

It's unspoken but some veteran teams would not lose any sleep if Team Maine were unable to finish the week-long race.

Gardner and Milley are not taking it personally, and some senior organizers with Cain's Quest admit Gardner is "good for the race" and its profile, even though he's not reluctant to criticize the event.

"There is definitely something different that needs to be captured in order to bring the full economic benefit of this race to Labrador," Gardner said when asked if Cain's Quest has reached its full potential.

'I'm the only guy the from States left coming here now, and it's not because the boys don't have the money. So you really have to stop and take pause and reflect and look at that situation and ask yourself, why?- Rob Gardner, Team Maine 

Gardner believes Cain's Quest can rival the renowned Iron Dog Race in Alaska, where he says corporations are tripping over each other to sponsor teams.

He said the fact that fewer American racers are coming to Cain's Quest is also notable.

"I'm the only guy the from States left coming here now, and it's not because the boys don't have the money. So you really have to stop and take pause and reflect and look at that situation and ask yourself, 'Why?'" 

Meanwhile, Milley is more focused on the positive influences of Cain's Quest. He said the race has changed the snowmobiling culture in Labrador.

"People now build their personal sleds that they buy out of their own money with a lot of the tricks and modifications that we make to Cain's Quest sleds," he explained.

"People go on longer trips now because of Cain's Quest. People go on big scouting trips because their buddy did it in Cain's Quest and they have a track to put in their GPS so it must be doable."

As for what it takes to win Cain's Quest — Milley said a combination of a great sled, detailed planning and determination helps, along with a lot of luck.

But there's one more thing.

"You got to be too stupid to quit."