Artist and cyclist explorer( 骑自行车探险家 ) Simn Gansai has just returned home in Birmingham after a 900-mile trip along the coast of Ireland on her bike. Sima Gansai learned more about Ireland from stories and recommendations(建议) from Irish friends in Birmingham and those she met on the way.
The idea of having the trip was started by her Irish friends who always share their memories and stories about living in Ireland. She loved storytelling and decided to look for more and speak to members of the Irish Welfare Club. They marked all the places they came from on a map, which gave her the idea of cycling coast-to-coast in Ireland and see by herself where their stories came from.
Staring from Dublin and finishing in Belfast during six weeks, she cycled 40 miles a day passing through many cities, towns and villages, asking local people where to travel next. Sima Gansai met many kind-hearted strangers. Her daily plan was to cycle 4 hours a day, find a place to stay, go out for some food and then visit the pubs to find stories. Pubs were like community centers and she found after a few hours people would be lining up to tell her their recommendations and stories.
Sima Gansai said, "I filmed as much of the journey as I could. " Sima Gansai's exploration will now be written into a book and made into a film about the special side of Ireland, You can see more of her journey on her Myspace page.
