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

Product Information

Sara is a very remarkable women to ride as far as she did by herself. We never knew where she would end up sleeping at the end of the day. It could be in the woods or in a strangers home. During her ride she even did presentations of her journey. Whether it was speaking at a school or simply to a group of kids she would come across. The quote below sums up some of what I find so important about learning more about the world around us . 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. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct. Finding a highway with signs as follows: "Ruta de la Mariposa Monarca. Apparently, I was on the Route of the Monarch Butterfly."

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 spotted a few butterflies floating around, though not a crowd. Last year, monarch and red admiral butterflies were sparse after ongoing drought and untimely freezes that diminished their food supplies. Robert Michael Pyle, author of Chasing Monarchs and founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate ConservationDoubt is as much of an adversary on a long trip as tired muscles are. However, just as legs can be conditioned to carry one farther, a mind can be conditioned, too. The key, at least for me, was to ignore the big picture. Never project thousands of miles into the future. Instead, think about the next mile, the next town, or (best of all) the next meal. In this way, I could confront small distances, and celebrate strings of tiny victories that would soon add up. I knew this strategy because I was not on my first long trip. I had already pedaled thousands of miles, including a twelve-country bicycle trip from Bolivia to Texas and a forty-nine-state tour around the United States. What these trips had in common was the sense of impossibility that lingered at the start. Before each trip, people told me my dream was not attainable, that I would probably die. Before each trip, I worried that I would fail. But by continuing, I had proved each time that a mile is a mile, regardless of how many are strung together. 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. PDF / EPUB File Name: Bicycling_with_Butterflies_-_Sara_Dykman.pdf, Bicycling_with_Butterflies_-_Sara_Dykman.epub I enjoyed this book. I was drawn to it because I enjoy cycling, but I can’t fathom such a long bike tour. I wanted to see what that would be like. Dykman's transformation as she follows the kaleidoscope of butterflies is a wonder to observe as it unfolds [...] Her writing is frank, uplifting, informative, and gorgeous."

Sara’s hope and vision is “That we can start to see the world and share the world with monarchs, and we can share the world with cyclists. And we can also share the world with people that don’t look like me, with people of color that might feel too scared for a good reason to camp behind a church. I think the monarchs helped me see that. And I think the more we can see and the more we can see the world through the perspective of different people and different animals and different plants, the healthier the world will be for everyone.” It’s just a devastating decline,” said Stuart Pimm, an ecologist at Duke University who was not involved in the new listing. “This is one of the most recognizable butterflies in the world.”

And there are plenty of opportunities to advocate: "The farm is the monarchs’ present, and the seeds it produces can plant the monarchs’ future. Halfway through our farm tour, Bill stopped and dropped to the ground. On his belly, he gently prodded a small purple plant emerging along the trail—an Earth inhabitant he deemed worthy of examination. I don’t recall the plant’s name, but I do remember the grandeur of its tiny petals and Bill’s curiosity. I remember admiring his relationship with every native plant, which gave him eyes to see a world most of us miss. He sees caterpillars as success, small plants as potential crops, and bugs as bird food. I knelt down, learning to see and celebrate the secrets cultivated by wildness." My camping options were not obvious. There were open fields of young corn, rows of spiderlike agave plants, clusters of colorful cement houses, and the occasional grove of spared pine trees. Even though I had biked thousands of miles and deliberated over camping spots hundreds of times, each night was its own puzzle.

One of Sara’s favorite things about monarchs is how they connect us all. “So often a person will be gardening in their yard and they’ll have just a small little garden and it can feel a little hopeless, right? Like, how is this little garden contributing to this huge problem?” she said. Told with a writer’s eye for detail and a biologist's sensitivity to the fragile nature of the systems that support wildlife and humans . . . a keen observer of the human condition, Sara draws attention to some of the patterns in our society that are in conflict with the greater good. Her narrative is an important wake-up call for the need to stay connected to nature." —Dr. Orley Taylor, director of Monarch Watch Monarchs and queen butterflies dashed around the native Maximilian sunflower, so laden with nutritious blossoms that it flopped over. Monarchs must be at least 41 degrees F to crawl and 55 degrees F to fly (known as their flight threshold)." Along the way, she trusted her instincts, relied on the kindness of others, and followed the science. Challenges occurred yet Dykman persisted with determination and a strong sense of purpose.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.