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

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Half lost at dusk, trying to avoid the main highway, I wandered through a partially built housing complex. I passed through the gates boldly, unimpressed by subdivision names like Prairie Villas and Meadow Oasis. No one was outside to stop me. No one was awake enough to see what we were losing: true prairie in exchange for a “prairie villa.” We were trading a real prairie’s treasury of life for a toxic monoculture of sterile green grass." There are some points in the story where Dykman gets a little preachy about conservation, but it is one of her passions, so that could be excused. It’s not overwhelming, and I actually finished this book admiring her dedication to her cause. Dykman's story is very inspiring, and while reading this book I found myself researching which species of Milkweed was native to my area and how I can plant some in my garden. I also want to plan a trip to the Monarch reserves in Mexico as soon as I am able. Her descriptions about the monarchs and their cyclical life are magical and captivating. The point of this book was to spread awareness about Monarchs and to make people care more about their plight, and it definitely achieves that goal. But I was able to bike between all these gardens and I was able to see, wow, that garden plus that garden and plus that garden adds up. And I’ve actually come to see the monarch as sort of a symbol for this idea that small is big. . . If all you can do is go outside, they’re going to grace you with their presence and everyone can help, which is not something we can do for a lot of animals.” And then, she uplifts us with so much joy and encouragement that we look around our gardens and say, “I can do this!”

Without a smartphone, my only option was to rely on the clues of the road, my horrible sense of direction, and my paper map. This map had been only semi-reliable on my first bicycle trip through Mexico. The creases were worn and I’d covered most of it in clear tape to protect it. What I was protecting, however, was a colorful piece of paper that was accurate about 70 percent of the time. Even if the cities were misnamed and some of the roads didn’t actually exist, I used it because it was better than nothing. A small path just off the road took me to a flattish spot under a tree. Home sweet home, I thought as I let the weight of my bike be absorbed by the ground. Voices, mumbles of Spanish from the people walking down the road, filtered through the trees. Since I couldn’t see them, I assumed they couldn’t see me. I wasn’t scared of them, but I felt more comfortable knowing I was well hidden. My tent fit perfectly on a carpet of pine needles, and even with all my sleeping gear thrown inside, there was plenty of room to spare. It was my first long solo trip, and if nothing else, it would be nice to have a roomy tent, practically a mansion. I celebrated my birthday and my survival by ending my day long before the sun did. After sixty-five car-crazed miles, my mind, legs, and butt were all pleading, STOP! Part travelogue, part adventure, it is 100% a love letter to nature. She somehow manages to convey the heartbreak and the hope that comes with being an advocate for wildlife in our precarious world.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."

Book Genre: Adventure, Animals, Autobiography, Biography Memoir, Environment, Memoir, Nature, Nonfiction, Science, TravelOne of my favorite books of the year! Dykman does an excellent job of telling the unique account of her daring trip following the monarch butterfly migration through North America on bike. 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. What a wonderful idea for an adventure! Absolutely inspired, timely, and important.” —Alistair Humphreys, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and author of The Doorstep Mile and Around the World by Bike One “can only dream of the millions of bison that once chomped, wandered, and produced the prairie under the gaze of visiting monarchs. Looking out at the broken scraps of what once was, my heart is broken, too.”

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.”The author was the first person to bicycle the entire monarch migration loop (and then some) – 10,201 miles and three countries. One of the main goals for the trip was to serve as a spokesperson for monarch butterflies and conservation truth teller. The journey was also a baring witness, in a new and intimate way, to the destruction of the habitats on which the monarchs’ survival, and ultimately, the survival of human life, depends. According to said map, I had to leave the sanctuaries, go east toward a town with a name I couldn’t pronounce, and take the first left after crossing from the state of Michoacán to the state of Mexico. Easy—right? Sara’s Butterbikes is just one of her adventure-linked projects in Beyond a Book where she connects real-time adventures to classrooms. On her 2017 trip, she talked with over 9000 people, along with hundreds of interviews and thousands of roadside encounters. Thanks to NetGalley, Timber Press Inc., and the author, Sara Dykman, for the opportunity to read a digital copy in exchange for this review. The group estimates that the population of monarch butterflies in North America has declined between 22% and 72% over 10 years, depending on the measurement method.

The butterflies flew, and since I couldn’t fly, I biked. After so much planning, so much dreaming, so much work, I was officially butterbiking with the butterflies. The name of my project, Butterbike, finally made sense. I have read a number of enlightening and enjoyable books about the adventures of researchers trying to learn more about the natural world, but Bicycling with Butterflies is the best I have seen. Author Sara Dykman’s first-person narrative of her remarkable trek is an eye-opening account of an even more extraordinary journey: the autumn flight of monarch butterflies to their overwintering grounds and their return north in the spring. Her description of her subjects’ awareness of changing seasons, navigational skills, and knowledge of appropriate egg-laying spots is a fascinating look at a system amazingly sophisticated for such a tiny creature. Monarchs and queen butterflies dashed around the native Maximilian sunflower, so laden with nutritious blossoms that it flopped over.I told myself to be patient and look at the real goal: to connect with the people who could save them. My travels demonstrated my passion. I had committed 10,000 miles’ worth of devotion to the monarchs. I hoped that my wonderment would catch on, that pride and a sense of responsibility would follow. My ride was to be a conversation starter, an invitation into the monarchs’ world." With both humor and humility, Dykman offers a compelling story, confirming the urgency of saving the threatened monarch migration--and the other threatened systems of nature that affect the survival of us all.

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