Paris in 6

I have arrived in Paris for 6 days for Retromobile! My flight was uneventful, as they should be, and my first day on Wednesday was dedicated to s-l-e-e-p. The 6 hour difference is not so bad, but I think rolled in with the frustration and excitement of getting here just wears me out. It was rainy and cold when I came in, and coupled with no sleep overnight on the flight, I was toast! Dozed in the lobby of my hotel while I waited on the room to be ready, made it through a nice warm bath and crashed until late afternoon. Finally got motivated to dress and get out before the sun went down. It doesn't get daylight good until 9:00 am this time of year, and it's dark by 6:00 pm. The city is well lit and safe after dark, and photo ops abound, so off I went! I saw the Eiffel Tower last night! Now, you can see it in books, you can see it on television, but to come face to face with this incredible bohemoth is a sight. I had no idea just how large it is! It was truly awesome! I have never felt as dwarfed by a manmade structure. Beautifully lit, it is a monument to engineering. Please resist the temptation to buy a glowing pink or blue replica to take home. The guys selling these are, fortunately, not voracious, just numerous.

There's something about Paris. It has a style and a culture we have no way of emulating. Parisians, as well as most Europeans I have found, revel in the antiquity of their countries. America is too caught up in the new, the shiny, the big. The streets I walk today here are built on Roman carriage ways (probably dinosaur trails previous to that). More than 40 years ago, some old houses were being torn down in front of Notre Dame to give the public a better view and to build a parking deck (sound familiar?), well, in the excavation, they uncovered these ancient streets! The parking deck was not build, and the streets have been excavated out so that you can see them in the Crypt at Notre Dame. Similar sites have been uncovered at the Louvre as well. These are fascinating.

Hellé walked these streets, she drove through these streets, danced here as well. I wonder which cafes gained her favor? Did she stroll along the Seine arm in arm? Did she walk the same places I did today, looking in shop windows at Guerlain and Chanel and Dior? She had the money to shop there, I do not. What was the name of her yacht? Where did she moor it? Did she captain it or hire someone? Where did they sail? Did she and Marcel and Courc race through these streets in the early hours of the morning, up the Champs-Elysees, around the Arc de Triumph?

I hope she will be pleased, I am taking her roses on Monday -

jusqu' à demain,

Sheryl

Off to Retromobile

Well, next week is the big trip to Paris for Retromobile. It's a vintage and classic car show and auction, celebrating it's 35th year. This year's theme is the history of the automobile, which promises some incredible antique vehicles. Featured marques are Mercedes, highlighting the "Gullwing", Mazda's 90th birthday, 200 years of Peugot, 100 years of Alfa, and the always present Citroen. I have meetings set up with rally people, Bugatti folks, and anyone else who will listen! I am also travelling by train to Ste-Mesme, Hellés hometown, to meet with some good people there, and to see firsthand where Hellé is buried.
I've been working on lots of things leading up to the trip. I have had the business cards reprinted in a better shade of blue, much closer this time to "Bugatti" blue. I've also had "Hellé Nice Project" postcards printed, detailing why I'm raising funds., as well as designing additional promotional pieces to give away or sell on the website later in the year.
Theresa Earnheart is interviewing me tomorrow on TrackChic Live for a program to be broadcast later in the week on racefanradio.com , and I'm going to be able to do a segment from Retromobile as well, thanks to the miracles of modern technology.

I want to thank my friend, Pat Yongue, for the gift of two of the most wonderful books to start my Women's History of Motorsports collection - "Fast Ladies, Female Racing Drivers, 1888-1970" by Jean Francois Bouzanquet, full of incredible photos and lots of inspiring information, and Rally Cup Winner, Genevieve "Genny" Obert's ,"Prince Borghese's Trail", the documenting her trip on the great Paris to Peking Rally in 1997 . I am saving this tome for the plane trip next week.

One of my goals in keeping this blog is to educate the reader about the history of women in motorsports, as well as the characters and the roles they played in shaping the future for those who came later. I will highlight the women drivers, with mini biographies, and give history as I see it both from a womans perspective and as I see how women have and are affecting the sport today. Bear with me -

Heading to Houston

Wow! How this year has flown! Last year, I had just gotten a call from Lyn St. James to talk about what the Hellé Nice Foundation was doing, and since then I have been to Lyn's Women In The Winner's Circle Foundation luncheon, where she honors young women in racing in her program. She's doing good work, and getting the girls out there on the track prepared to win. I have also been fortunate to hook up with Theresa Earnheart of TrackChic , and have given my first "Girls Garage Party" to help provide funding for the foundation, as well as having been interviewed by Theresa on her new weekly radio show "TrackChic Live" on racefanradio.com
I am continuing to build awareness for the Foundation by travelling to Paris in late January for Retromobile . It is a yearly automotive gathering for enthusiasts and collectors of vintage and classic cars. I have a list of people to meet up with and chat,to try and get them on board with the memorial service for Hellé Nice , as well as marking her burial site by placing a bronze plaque on her unmarked grave. I will keep you posted through out the week I am there with blogs and photos.
Now, the "Heading to Houston" part - I will be heading west to meet up with Patricia Yongue, an incredible woman who is best known as an associate professor of English at the University of Houston. That not being enough, she's also an automotive historian, specializing in Women in automotive and racing history from the early 1900's to the Second World War. I think she has taken me on as a project. We are going to discuss chartering the Hellé Nice Society, as well as how to push forward the Hellé Nice Foundation.
More as the days go by -

Sheryl

Debut of "TrackChic Live!"

Sunday November 8, 2009, TrackChic Live, a radio show being brought to you by the creator of TrackChic (www.trackchic.com), one of the greatest, and in my own humble opinion, THE BEST, site for women fans of racing, and for fans of women racers!

Broadcasting live from the final SCCA(www.scca.org)race of the season at Road Atlanta, and brought to you by RaceFanRadio.com with video by GoRacingTV.com, guest include Colbi Bradley, TC Guest driver, and Rebecca Single, as well as an interview with me, Sheryl Greene, founder of The Hellé Nice Foundation. I will be discussing the projects on the table for the upcoming months.

The show starts at 11:00am to 12:30 pm on RaceFanRadio.com. Stop by and check it out. If you miss the live broadcast, you can pick it up anytime. TrackChic Live is going to begin broadcast every Thursday at 7:00 pm as well, to keep us all updated on the women in motorsports!

I am hoping to have a wireless connection to blog live, well, sort of, and to upload almost live photos I've taken at the track.

More tomorrow

In the beginning... An article by Theresa Earnheart of Track Chic

JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS COVER … AND THE STORY OF THE BUGATTI QUEEN’S DETERMINED CHAMPION, SHERYL GREENE
I first learned of Sheryl Greene in Indianapolis this July while attending the Lyn St James Women in the Winner’s Circle Awards Ceremony with other motorsports executives. Her fascination with women in motorsports was recently sparked by an interesting book cover she spotted in a favorite bookshop in Atlanta’s quaint Little Five Points neighborhood.The book, “The Bugatti Queen, In Search of a French Racing Legend”, by Miranda Seymour, (www.mirandaseymour.com ), explores the life and times of a forgotten Speed Demon, Helle Nice, a French born trapeze artist and co-star of Maurice Chevalier who abandoned her perch at the fashionable Casino de Paris for the danger of the racing circuit.A fortunate relationship with French car maker, Jean Bugatti, fueled Helle’s racing career. Whether the relationship was romantic or merely friendly, no one is certain. Nonetheless, Bugatti was impressed by Helle Nice’s skill and agreed to lend her the Bugatti in December 1929 to compete in a 10-mile race near Paris. She successful clocked an amazing 118 miles per hour.Eventually, Helle bought the Bugatti in March 1930, for $1,600 -- the original invoice, for 40,000 francs, is pasted into a collector’s scrapbook -- and spent the next four seasons behind its wheel as one the world's few female grand prix drivers.Sheryl was intrigued, absorbed (hmmm, and maybe delightfully obsessed?) by the Bugatti Queen’s fast-paced story and in a “Julie & Julia” fashion, followed along as Helle’s career travels to scores of exotic places, like Monte Carlo, Rio and Casablanca, and to some of the world’s most famous racetracks, setting records that still stand today. But after decades of excitement and adventure, Helle Nice fell into obscurity. Having once lived in a fashionable residence in Paris and being the toast of the town, Helle died broken and penniless. She is buried in an unmarked grave/crypt outside Paris, France.Not at all happy with the ending to this story, Sheryl is determined to pay tribute to this racing pioneer. What started as a lighthearted summer read has now transformed into Sheryl's life mission. She has single-handedly formed a non-profit organization to honor “The Fastest Women in the World” and promote global gender equality in racing through education and funding for women in motorsports. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Helle Nice’s death, and it is the intention of the Helle Nice Foundation to officially mark her final resting place and pay tribute to a woman who dedicated her adult life to auto racing in a sport with very few women. The plan is to have the grave marker placed in the Fall of 2010 at her gravesite outside Paris, France.Sheryl is planning fun car rallies throughout the US and Europe as well as Vintage Bugatti and Exotic Car Shows and other unique fundraising events.
Want to get involved? If you, or perhaps your car club, want to show your support for Speed, Style & Sisterhood and the forgotten Bugatti Queen, contact:
The Helle Nice Foundation, Inc.
Sheryl A. Greene
Email: hellenicefoundation@gmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/11/4b3/662
404-429-9600