Willen Wonderbird Eileen Sparrow (aka FAB 2)
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Eileen Sparrow gave an interesting
and entertaining breakfast meeting talk in August 2005 on her
experiences as a member of Team Willen Wonderbird in last year's
ExtraMile Cycle Challenge to Beaune.
There was shock and surprise among
the Rotarians present when Eileen started to remove her clothes to
reveal the outfit worn for the challenge including t-shirt and Lycra
cycling shorts.
The Team had originally been
intended to be an all lady team with members named FAB 1 to 4. As a
result of an injury, one lady member was replaced by a gentleman, who
inevitably became known as Parker- M'lady.
Training over (for some
peculiar reason involving leapfrogging) the team set off for the Shuttle
to cross the Channel and made for the first overnight hotel stop at the
Hotel Hermitage.
After an early start the team
set off in a relay of 4 riders with each expected to cover 10 miles each
day. Thanks to excellent marshalling, the direction arrows provided made
the route easy to follow. |
Willen Wonderbird, Eileen Sparrow
with Alan Tranter, Vice President of MKGU Rotary Club |
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The rest at hotel two proved most welcome
and the team were soon out topping up the carbohydrates at the Buffalo Grill
washed down with copious supplies of the local wine. Day two passed without
event apart from a rather spartan dinner in a convent in the evening. Not to be
deterred by the meagre wine ration provided, the team soon found a local
hostelry nearby to continue with champagne.
Day 3 started with rain and mist and
because the essential clothes washing had not dried overnight, it was decided to
hang the various undergarments out of the windows of the support vehicle. Not
surprisingly, this resulted in considerable comment from those who witnessed the
scene and the local French people were bemused by this strange and quirky
English behaviour.
Fortunately the last section was all down
hill and there was much relief when all teams arrived at the finishing car park.
The bicycles used ranged from the extremely sporty racing machines to what could
only be described as a shopping cycle with luggage basket. The Team Willen
Wonderbirds were impressed with their achievement of coming mid-way in the group
(NB this event is NOT a race).
The camaraderie was first class and the
event culminated in a grand dinner at which the Wonderbirds donned their blond
wigs, tiaras and dressed in all pink (except for the male member who declined).
Back to the hotel, Eileen had to share not just a room with a friend, but also
the bed. On strict instructions not to make contact during the night, the team
members slept well in the knowledge that they had raised over £9,500 towards the
£3 million needed to run Willen
Hospice each year.
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