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

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I have rather mixed feelings on this book. I studied monarchs for two years in college, so I was immediately drawn to this book and what it stands for. Sara includes a number of facts about monarchs and their natural history, which I really appreciate, and I enjoyed reading about her travels, both the struggles and the triumphs. In Ohio, wildlife gardener Kylee Baumle–a friend I met online and in person over the years–hosted Sara in her home and set up talks with local schools. Each time a tree falls in the monarchs’ overwintering forest, a hole is torn in their blanket and punched through their umbrella. These disturbances—logging, disease, windstorms, fire—allow heat to escape and moisture to enter, creating a dangerous combination. 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.

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." Dykman deftly interweaves science with adventure…I can’t recommend this book enough.” — The Reporter After decades of pursuing the pleasures of cycling, I’m convinced that riding with an intent, an objective of some sort, adds meaning and value. This conviction is clearly shared by Sara Dykman, a serious cyclist and inquiring environmental scientist as well. And it’s clearly in evidence in the story of her engrossing cycling adventure, which she shares in Bicycling with Butterflies. 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." 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.During her trek, the author highlighted the monarchs’ plight, giving presentations at schools and explaining her mission to curious bystanders. Her book is a passionate celebration of the glory of the monarchs, with tips on what people can do to ensure their survival. She also writes about the challenges she faced – problems all too common for an experienced long-distance cyclist: bad weather, flat tires, questioning by authorities, and, in the case of this trip, one uncomfortable human encounter.

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." The challenges of the cold are most acute for ground-stranded monarchs. As temperatures drop, ectothermic monarchs become unable to move and can’t seek out microclimates, such as tree trunks. Monarchs must be at least 41 degrees F to crawl and 55 degrees F to fly (known as their flight threshold). 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.Her anecdotes about travelling as a single female on a bike and finding places to camp were interesting.

I'm exhausted by her anger not recharged to go into battle with her. If she truly wanted to get more people to take interest in the Monarch's plight she's going to have to go about it a little differently, in my opinion. What may have impacted 100 people had the potential to impact hundreds of thousands if written in a less hostile tone. I struggled around 30% through to kerp going, and finally called it quits at 50%. Sara Dykman made history when she became the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies on their storied annual migration—a round-trip adventure that included three countries and more than 10,000 miles. Equally remarkable, she did it solo, on a bike cobbled together from used parts. 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. 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.”PDF / EPUB File Name: Bicycling_with_Butterflies_-_Sara_Dykman.pdf, Bicycling_with_Butterflies_-_Sara_Dykman.epub I listened to this as an audiobook which I think is the only way I finished this book. It was an interesting listen but I don't think I could have read it without falling asleep. For the monarchs, their very survival was in doubt. Yet, as their population staggered toward extinction, and uncertainty prodded my brain, the monarchs above me seemed peaceful, unburdened. They had been proving themselves, year after year, for thousands of years. I assumed they didn’t appreciate this, nor could they comprehend the significance of their uncertain future. Yet it brought me comfort to imagine that they hung peacefully because they understood the bigger picture: that their job was to migrate across a continent—battle storms, predators, disease, human development, busy roads, and pesticides—until it wasn’t. I took a deep breath, trying to put the present into the context of history. Surely if a butterfly with nothing more than instinct and orange wings could navigate three countries and the chaos of humanity, then I, with my stubborn will and a continent’s worth of hospitality, could too.

Alistair Humphreys, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and author of The Doorstep Mile and Around the World by Bike Science, nature, and adventure come togetherin this riveting account of a solo bike tripalong the migratory path of the monarch butterfly.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.

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