Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration

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Dykman didn't see a monarch every day. What was more important was to find the people that could plant milkweed, restore habitat and help the monarchs. Most books about bicycles are either about (1) repair and maintenance, (2) racing, or (3) the guys who race them. It's far more unique to find a book that (1) discusses what to do when you break down on the road, (2) touring, not racing, and (3) is written by a woman. Does that sound daunting? Don’t stop pedalling! The way Sara weaves the science into the physical adventure is the strength of the book. She makes the science interesting and palatable to the layman.

The author’s account is peppered with events and encounters both memorable and humorous. Her story comes alive through descriptions of details of life on the trail: ensuring her tent will not flood when rain is on the horizon—and dealing with it when it happens, setting up camp in places as unlikely as a commercial parking lot, finding her own brand of “sandwiches” (ingredients eaten one after the other instead of combined between two pieces of bread) less time consuming to prepare after a long, exhausting day, and doing laundry in a shower stall. People have long been fascinated by the monarch butterfly's migration across the North American continent. Thanks to this book, readers have a better idea of what that incredible journey entails [...] Dykman's enthusiasm will motivate others to be more thoughtful about their decisions."I found deeply touching the moments Dykman spent having personal connections with creatures encountered along the path. In those passages, I found the invitation to look into the mirror Dykman was holding up, to show us how we can find ourselves in every living creature and become motivated to take action. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to review a digital arc of this book. From the start, I was in awe of the author and her story. Thirty two years old, with courage for days, no smartphone and only paper maps. Her anecdotes about travelling as a single female on a bike and finding places to camp were interesting.

Dykman cycles by monarch caterpillars eating milkweed, their only food source. The decline in milkweed is a major cause of monarch declines. Climate change and habitat loss have left their mark. While monarchs have found homes across the globe and are at a low risk of extinction, their numbers are falling. Avoiding the coldest, wettest conditions is of the utmost importance for monarchs, as their nightmare scenario occurs when the two conditions overlap. Cold, dry monarchs at least stand a chance. Cold, wet monarchs are in real danger. Monarchs get wet when they are exposed to precipitation or dew. Clustering monarchs in a healthy forest are protected from storms, but as trees are removed, monarchs are left exposed." For all the danger the cold entails, it is also a saving grace. Low temperatures keep the monarchs inactive. Instead of flying around and burning lots of calories, when cold, they can dangle from the trees, use very little energy, and conserve their fat reserves for their remigration north in the spring. Like nearly frozen statues, monarchs wait out winter in a hibernation-like slumber. Monarchs must be at least 41 degrees F to crawl and 55 degrees F to fly (known as their flight threshold)."

Dykman deftly interweaves science with adventure…I can’t recommend this book enough.” — The Reporter

PDF / EPUB File Name: Bicycling_with_Butterflies_-_Sara_Dykman.pdf, Bicycling_with_Butterflies_-_Sara_Dykman.epub The book is just as much a poetic travelogue as it is informative about monarch butterflies. Dykman's research keenly supplements her experiences on the road [...] it may be one singular bicyclist's word, but represents a collective cry for climate action." You can truly feel the passion Dykman has for these butterflies, which is the most inspiring part of this book, although the fact that she biked 10,000 miles was also incredibly inspiring and made me feel that if someone can do that, I can also achieve my goals. You don’t need to be a cyclist or a field biologist to enjoy reading Bicycling with Butterflies. All you need is the interest in learning about another human being, a humanist, and her hero-journey, for it is exactly that. Ms. Dykman’s quest to learn more about this very special butterfly is bound with her own very special search for self-knowledge and a desire to understand life, philosophically, interpersonally and ecologically. These intertwining perspectives enrich the narrative so much—and make her story so very special.If there is a criticism, it might be that there are only a limited number of ways to keep the miles interesting. When you have over 10,000 miles to document it isn’t surprising that some of it is filled with homilies like: "The temperature plummeted that night. I burrowed into my sleeping bag. If hunger makes the best seasoning, then exhaustion makes the fluffiest bed."