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Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration
Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award 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. Her panniers were recycled buckets. In Bicycling with Butterflies, Dykman recounts her incredible journey and the dramatic ups and downs of the nearly nine-month odyssey. We’re beside her as she navigates unmapped roads in foreign countries, checks roadside milkweed for monarch eggs, and shares her passion with eager schoolchildren, skeptical bar patrons, and unimpressed border officials. We also meet some of the ardent monarch stewards who supported her efforts, from citizen scientists and researchers to farmers and high-rise city dwellers. 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.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2021
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4417 people want to read
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November 14, 2021
A modern trek shows that the public still rallies behind a person with a mission. Through most of 2017, wildlife biologist Sara Dykman followed migrating monarch butterflies on her bicycle, lodging with and befriending people along the way. She pedaled from Mexico north to the United States and up into Canada, and then back south again. Dykman tells the story of her journey in her new memoir, “Bicycling With Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration.”
Read the rest of my review in the Christian Science Monitor.
Read the rest of my review in the Christian Science Monitor.
July 21, 2022
July 21 2022 Bulletin -
WASHINGTON (AP) — The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
“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 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.
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.
“What we’re worried about is the rate of decline,” said Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University. “It’s very easy to imagine how very quickly this butterfly could become even more imperiled.”
Review
"The idea to bike from Mexico to Canada and back with the migrating monarch butterflies arose from a simple wish to visit them. In 2013, crossing Mexico by bike for the first time, a friend and I entertained the idea of visiting the monarchs at their overwintering sites."
"How many miles, I wasn’t exactly sure. I figured I would need to bicycle around 10,000 miles if I wanted to go from the overwintering grounds in Mexico to Canada and back. If I left in March, I could get to Canada by summertime and be back in Mexico by November, just like the monarchs. That translated to a very plausible 1200 miles a month."
"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."
Finding a highway with signs as follows: "Ruta de la Mariposa Monarca. Apparently, I was on the Route of the Monarch Butterfly."
Plenty of relevant scientific details:
"Monarchs must be at least 41 degrees F to crawl and 55 degrees F to fly (known as their flight threshold)."
"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."
"Oceans are powerful affecters. They create climate, act as thermal reservoirs to stabilize day and night temperatures, and redistribute heat by way of currents for a hospitable balance between the equator and the poles. As greenhouse gases build in our atmosphere, they trap more and more of the sun’s heat. The planet warms, and the oceans absorb this warmth. As the Pacific Ocean heats up, evaporation increases, causing brewing storms to carry more and more moisture. Monarchs, which have evolved to survive the dry season in Mexico, are finding the dry season no longer exists. The monarchs are now drenched every few years in catastrophic winter storms. Adding insult to injury, the forest canopy is now less intact and can no longer offer reliable shelter."
And, with those descriptive paragraphs we are ready to follow those monarchs north from Mexico.
"I loaded down my beater bike, a 1989 Specialized Hardrock, until it was so heavy I could barely lift it off the ground. A Frankenstein bike that I had made five years earlier from a collection of used parts, it looked like a cross between a salvage yard and a garage sale. Its white and pink paint job was speckled with rust-colored dings—scars from past adventures. The bike was ugly. To me, however, it was a reliable machine, a deterrent to theft, a statement against consumerism, and my ticket to adventure. I liked the look."
Along the way there is plenty of opportunity to educate: "I sat in the shade of the store’s porch with two wrinkled cowboys and talked about monarchs. When kids ran alongside my bike, I told them about monarchs. When I sat eating gorditas at a town square, I told the women cooking about the monarchs."
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."
And
"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."
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."
For me, Dykman succeeds. 3.5 *
WASHINGTON (AP) — The monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
“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 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.
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.
“What we’re worried about is the rate of decline,” said Nick Haddad, a conservation biologist at Michigan State University. “It’s very easy to imagine how very quickly this butterfly could become even more imperiled.”
Review
"The idea to bike from Mexico to Canada and back with the migrating monarch butterflies arose from a simple wish to visit them. In 2013, crossing Mexico by bike for the first time, a friend and I entertained the idea of visiting the monarchs at their overwintering sites."
"How many miles, I wasn’t exactly sure. I figured I would need to bicycle around 10,000 miles if I wanted to go from the overwintering grounds in Mexico to Canada and back. If I left in March, I could get to Canada by summertime and be back in Mexico by November, just like the monarchs. That translated to a very plausible 1200 miles a month."
"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."
Finding a highway with signs as follows: "Ruta de la Mariposa Monarca. Apparently, I was on the Route of the Monarch Butterfly."
Plenty of relevant scientific details:
"Monarchs must be at least 41 degrees F to crawl and 55 degrees F to fly (known as their flight threshold)."
"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."
"Oceans are powerful affecters. They create climate, act as thermal reservoirs to stabilize day and night temperatures, and redistribute heat by way of currents for a hospitable balance between the equator and the poles. As greenhouse gases build in our atmosphere, they trap more and more of the sun’s heat. The planet warms, and the oceans absorb this warmth. As the Pacific Ocean heats up, evaporation increases, causing brewing storms to carry more and more moisture. Monarchs, which have evolved to survive the dry season in Mexico, are finding the dry season no longer exists. The monarchs are now drenched every few years in catastrophic winter storms. Adding insult to injury, the forest canopy is now less intact and can no longer offer reliable shelter."
And, with those descriptive paragraphs we are ready to follow those monarchs north from Mexico.
"I loaded down my beater bike, a 1989 Specialized Hardrock, until it was so heavy I could barely lift it off the ground. A Frankenstein bike that I had made five years earlier from a collection of used parts, it looked like a cross between a salvage yard and a garage sale. Its white and pink paint job was speckled with rust-colored dings—scars from past adventures. The bike was ugly. To me, however, it was a reliable machine, a deterrent to theft, a statement against consumerism, and my ticket to adventure. I liked the look."
Along the way there is plenty of opportunity to educate: "I sat in the shade of the store’s porch with two wrinkled cowboys and talked about monarchs. When kids ran alongside my bike, I told them about monarchs. When I sat eating gorditas at a town square, I told the women cooking about the monarchs."
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."
And
"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."
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."
For me, Dykman succeeds. 3.5 *
June 1, 2021
Wow. As I sit here listening to the singing of the 17-year cicadas and contemplate this book, I can't help but wish I could meet the author and just spend a little time with her. This was one of the best nonfiction, travel, environmental, adventure, nature books I've read in recent memory. I made my way slowly through this book because I wanted to savor my time with it. Sara has a passion for all of God's creatures, not just the monarch butterflies, but here she shares many of the lessons she learned from them on her journey following their migration path. She is a trained biologist whose specialty is amphibians, and as she says, she didn't even really know much about the monarchs when she made the decision to follow their migratory pathway. She had done a few hardcore bike trips before, including one where she visited 49 of the states by bike (actually it may have been 48, but I think 49 sounded better). But she is an adventurer and a nomad by nature, I think, and she felt called by the butterflies. She began her 10,201 mile trip in Mexico at one of the overwintering sanctuaries for Monarchs and followed the general migration path of the monarchs into the US, up through the center of the country into Canada and back around, but in a more eastern pathway. One thing I did not realize was that the migration was a multi-generation migration where the ones who left the overwintering grounds were not the ones that returned, but rather their progeny. Although she scheduled talks throughout her ride (mostly with schools), her schedule was pretty open so that she could take detours if she wanted or arrange other stops at people's homes, people she met earlier in her trip. She shares many of her frustrations, her challenges, her sadness, her triumphs, and all along the way, she shares the lessons she's learned and her desperation to get the word out so that we as a collective can change things for the better in our environment before it is too late, not just for the monarchs, but for all of us. My garden is currently a huge mess of wildflowers, but most of them were just pretty much planted and left and I know that grapevines are choking a lot of the flowers. We get visitors, but I don't think we have any milkweed. I have been inspired that this fall would perhaps be a good time to clear out some of those grapevines and figure out a way to plant milkweed (native, and untreated with poisons). I highly recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a good non-fiction read if you care about the environment, if you like travel books, or you're just curious about a woman who spent the better part of a year biking the migratory route of the Monarch butterflies in an effort to learn and to get the word out about protecting these beautiful creatures as well as our environment. I loved this book so much that I ordered a signed copy from a nature center that hosted one of her talks.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
February 29, 2024
This is a conflicted review. I loved the story of what she did, but I was completely turned off by her attitude about Monarch Conservation.
A lot of her writing is very poetic and beautiful. I loved her journey and the way she allows strangers to embrace her so together they can expand their common goal.
She is a story teller with a great story, but unfortunately she is not a motivational author. Had the book been only about her adventure and facts about Monarchs it would have been great. But her attempt at promoting conservation comes across very negative. She knows it, too. A reporter asks her if she's always this angry, and she gets offended that her passion is misinterpreted as an over-reaction. TOO MANY TIMES I wanted to tell her to let her passion shine through, but in a way that gets people to want to join her, not stand back and avert their eyes.
She has no regard for private property and even turns a trespassing situation with cops into a commentary on race. You are not entitled to ignore posted signs and then get offended when property owners or police question you. Be thoughtful, respectful, and mature, especially when you are a self-proclaimed ambassador for the Monarch.
She's a glass half empty kind of person. Lots of info about habitat destruction, which is fine and a well deserved cause to be passionate about, but the scenes about the people who ARE making a difference just don't have the same emotional impact. Presentation and tone can make a huge difference in the outcome of your story. I'm assuming she wants to motivate people to make a difference, not just shame people for things they have only indirect relationships to.
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 keep going, and finally called it quits at 50%.
I am a Master Naturalist who has planted milkweed in open spaces for years, spoken out about habitat destruction, reared caterpillars to adulthood for public education, and shared with others my pure love and interest for such an amazing creature!
A lot of her writing is very poetic and beautiful. I loved her journey and the way she allows strangers to embrace her so together they can expand their common goal.
She is a story teller with a great story, but unfortunately she is not a motivational author. Had the book been only about her adventure and facts about Monarchs it would have been great. But her attempt at promoting conservation comes across very negative. She knows it, too. A reporter asks her if she's always this angry, and she gets offended that her passion is misinterpreted as an over-reaction. TOO MANY TIMES I wanted to tell her to let her passion shine through, but in a way that gets people to want to join her, not stand back and avert their eyes.
She has no regard for private property and even turns a trespassing situation with cops into a commentary on race. You are not entitled to ignore posted signs and then get offended when property owners or police question you. Be thoughtful, respectful, and mature, especially when you are a self-proclaimed ambassador for the Monarch.
She's a glass half empty kind of person. Lots of info about habitat destruction, which is fine and a well deserved cause to be passionate about, but the scenes about the people who ARE making a difference just don't have the same emotional impact. Presentation and tone can make a huge difference in the outcome of your story. I'm assuming she wants to motivate people to make a difference, not just shame people for things they have only indirect relationships to.
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 keep going, and finally called it quits at 50%.
I am a Master Naturalist who has planted milkweed in open spaces for years, spoken out about habitat destruction, reared caterpillars to adulthood for public education, and shared with others my pure love and interest for such an amazing creature!
June 24, 2022
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.
While I appreciated her raw emotions in her story as they related to animal deaths or habitat, there was also a tone of hatred and condescension that really bothered me. Some excerpts talked as though cars are horrible things or the drivers are heartless because an animal is accidentally killed. Sie describes not being able to forgive those who destroyed pollinator habitat, even though she was describing farmers and general civilians who likely just didn't know.
Additionally, she goes on political rants about topics that, in my opinion, are a complete tangent to the story. Meanwhile, she feels entitled to break rules and camp where she pleases, even getting an attitude with those who call her out for camping where she shouldn't be.
While she often says her behavior or anger were unjustified, these rants and entitled moments made me want to stop reading. If I, a fellow scientist and monarch lover, wanted to stop reading because of Sara's behavior, how much more would a butterfly novice be inclined to not only put the book away, but to ignore Sara's greater message of conservation?
While I appreciated her raw emotions in her story as they related to animal deaths or habitat, there was also a tone of hatred and condescension that really bothered me. Some excerpts talked as though cars are horrible things or the drivers are heartless because an animal is accidentally killed. Sie describes not being able to forgive those who destroyed pollinator habitat, even though she was describing farmers and general civilians who likely just didn't know.
Additionally, she goes on political rants about topics that, in my opinion, are a complete tangent to the story. Meanwhile, she feels entitled to break rules and camp where she pleases, even getting an attitude with those who call her out for camping where she shouldn't be.
While she often says her behavior or anger were unjustified, these rants and entitled moments made me want to stop reading. If I, a fellow scientist and monarch lover, wanted to stop reading because of Sara's behavior, how much more would a butterfly novice be inclined to not only put the book away, but to ignore Sara's greater message of conservation?
January 20, 2021
Wow, this was such an interesting read!
Sara is an amazing woman who plans this trip to bicycle the path of the monarch butterfly's migration. In this book, she weaves together her travel experiences, and information about the monarchs. The way she describes the monarchs is magical and her appreciation for nature shines through on every page. I'm now determined to visit Mexico and see them for myself.
Sara also weaves in important topics like refugee rights and climate change. These parts are emotional to read but weaved in perfectly and so appreciated.
Sara is an amazing woman who plans this trip to bicycle the path of the monarch butterfly's migration. In this book, she weaves together her travel experiences, and information about the monarchs. The way she describes the monarchs is magical and her appreciation for nature shines through on every page. I'm now determined to visit Mexico and see them for myself.
Sara also weaves in important topics like refugee rights and climate change. These parts are emotional to read but weaved in perfectly and so appreciated.
March 1, 2021
3.75 stars Than you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Publishes April 13, 2021.
This is a nonfiction short story about a girl who followed the migration of Monarch butterflies from Mexico to Canada on a bicycle. Most of the book is sectioned off in chapters that run 3 to 4 days. It gives many facts of the Monarch, and their soon to be extinction, and also educates you to what it is like taking a 255 day, 10,201 mile trip alone, on a bicycle. If you love nature and the evolution of animals on our planet this is a very worthwhile book to read. Enjoyable.
This is a nonfiction short story about a girl who followed the migration of Monarch butterflies from Mexico to Canada on a bicycle. Most of the book is sectioned off in chapters that run 3 to 4 days. It gives many facts of the Monarch, and their soon to be extinction, and also educates you to what it is like taking a 255 day, 10,201 mile trip alone, on a bicycle. If you love nature and the evolution of animals on our planet this is a very worthwhile book to read. Enjoyable.
June 26, 2025
‘Bicycling with Butterflies’ by Sara Dykman is a non-fiction mix of memoir, travelogue and facts about monarch butterflies. For the most part the book is interesting and eye opening, but I sort of got tired of being reminded constantly at how emotional Dykman is about how monarchs appear to be going extinct because of environmental degradation and climate change.
Dykman, of course, needed to and did describe the horrors of animal-killing traffic - the thousands of miles of pavement being traversed by speeding and polluting vehicles replacing the wild places - and monoculture farming - genetically-modified crops full of pesticides - as well as the stupid culture of neat lawns of green grass, with the necessity of mowing down plants and weeds which sustain so much wildlife like birds and butterflies and bees.
The trash tossed everywhere alongside roads and in forests and hiking trails, and the custom of growing and mowing lawns supporting only green grass which could so easily be turned into garden havens for humans and wildlife alike is truly disgusting. And of course, the millions of miles of natural land which has been turned into plowed fields supporting monoculture farming of mostly unnecessary excessive tons of products such as corn, caused by good intentions and cynical vote-winning strategies of politicians.
FYI: so much corn is grown, the farmers can’t really sell it, so government plans are created to financially support the farmers by buying their crops, which encourages the farmers to plant more of a crop they can’t sell but they know the government will buy. In turn, the government has to come up with ideas of what to do with all of that, for example, corn, so they create plans like turning the corn into a fuel which no one really likes to use. Or the crop is stockpiled, or given to countries which are experiencing famine (until recently).
Anyway.
She also describes the joys of bicycling, and the peace of traveling by bicycle through quiet and wild places, what she sees and feels. It isn’t only about the butterflies, but her journey, and the people she meets.
I have copied the book blurb:
”Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award
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. Her panniers were recycled buckets. In Bicycling with Butterflies, Dykman recounts her incredible journey and the dramatic ups and downs of the nearly nine-month odyssey. We’re beside her as she navigates unmapped roads in foreign countries, checks roadside milkweed for monarch eggs, and shares her passion with eager schoolchildren, skeptical bar patrons, and unimpressed border officials. We also meet some of the ardent monarch stewards who supported her efforts, from citizen scientists and researchers to farmers and high-rise city dwellers. 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.”
I was surprised by how many volunteers across America are trying to do their part to save the monarchs. From sponsoring talks about them in school auditoriums to having wild-flower backyards that are also planted with milkweed - the only plant that sustains monarchs - a lot of people are trying to maintain small islands of habitat in order to save the amazing monarch migration along with other critters. I was impressed and sad at the same time at the individual heroism of the scattered, although somewhat connected, but too few islands of milkweed being maintained here and there along the known paths of the monarch migration.
All of these adorable sweet lovely people, each described with affection as Dykman met them in her year-long journey, who are making a massive effort, yet each one is just an individual doing their planting in their little home plot, to coexist with wild things in their small contributions of planting wildlife-friendly gardens! As Dykman’s diary of her journey shows, the monarchs are facing a lot of man-made barriers which they are unable to surmount alone. But these little man-made backyard oases are helping. The butterflies need it. The migration involves 4 generations! The ones that begin the year-long migration will die before the end of the migration. It is the great grandchildren of the original monarchs who come back home to Mexico.
Scientists, who have been counting the monarchs (using methods of counting which are amazing btw!) have noted the monarchs are continuing to persist although their numbers are slowly declining. And the migration is becoming tougher and tougher for the butterflies. Besides the usual pollution and environmental degradation caused by the ‘progress’ of human civilization, the wonderous migration is being disturbed by rising temperatures, too. Plants are supposed to flower at the same time the monarchs arrive to mate and lay their eggs, and for the growing and molting caterpillars to feed on the milkweed’s leaves. Where the butterflies stop, the weather should not be too cold or too hot, there should be water at the proper time of the year, and their usual gathering together spots should be full of trees and plants and water. Instead, as it is for many migrating animals, the timing of growing things and arrival of migrating creatures are out of sync.
On Youtube, there are a few videos of Sara Dykman’s presentations. She does not have a lot of money, and it shows, these are not professional videos, but her heart is in the right place as it is for the organizations and groups who invite her to lecture.
I am including links to two of them:
https://youtu.be/Gy2aPBvay10?feature=...
https://youtu.be/Op3kWr_ck_M?si=P8ZWQ...
So. The miracle of the monarch migration continues. I have included a science-oriented but short New York Times Youtube video, which includes facts which are also described in the book:
https://youtu.be/RFoSpaNqqeQ?si=eOETR...
This 60 Minutes video has terrific video of the monarchs themselves:
https://youtu.be/hrXzY4DP_c8?si=rX8_X...
I am crying again.
The book includes an extensive selected references and index sections.
Dykman, of course, needed to and did describe the horrors of animal-killing traffic - the thousands of miles of pavement being traversed by speeding and polluting vehicles replacing the wild places - and monoculture farming - genetically-modified crops full of pesticides - as well as the stupid culture of neat lawns of green grass, with the necessity of mowing down plants and weeds which sustain so much wildlife like birds and butterflies and bees.
The trash tossed everywhere alongside roads and in forests and hiking trails, and the custom of growing and mowing lawns supporting only green grass which could so easily be turned into garden havens for humans and wildlife alike is truly disgusting. And of course, the millions of miles of natural land which has been turned into plowed fields supporting monoculture farming of mostly unnecessary excessive tons of products such as corn, caused by good intentions and cynical vote-winning strategies of politicians.
FYI: so much corn is grown, the farmers can’t really sell it, so government plans are created to financially support the farmers by buying their crops, which encourages the farmers to plant more of a crop they can’t sell but they know the government will buy. In turn, the government has to come up with ideas of what to do with all of that, for example, corn, so they create plans like turning the corn into a fuel which no one really likes to use. Or the crop is stockpiled, or given to countries which are experiencing famine (until recently).
Anyway.
She also describes the joys of bicycling, and the peace of traveling by bicycle through quiet and wild places, what she sees and feels. It isn’t only about the butterflies, but her journey, and the people she meets.
I have copied the book blurb:
”Winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award
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. Her panniers were recycled buckets. In Bicycling with Butterflies, Dykman recounts her incredible journey and the dramatic ups and downs of the nearly nine-month odyssey. We’re beside her as she navigates unmapped roads in foreign countries, checks roadside milkweed for monarch eggs, and shares her passion with eager schoolchildren, skeptical bar patrons, and unimpressed border officials. We also meet some of the ardent monarch stewards who supported her efforts, from citizen scientists and researchers to farmers and high-rise city dwellers. 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.”
I was surprised by how many volunteers across America are trying to do their part to save the monarchs. From sponsoring talks about them in school auditoriums to having wild-flower backyards that are also planted with milkweed - the only plant that sustains monarchs - a lot of people are trying to maintain small islands of habitat in order to save the amazing monarch migration along with other critters. I was impressed and sad at the same time at the individual heroism of the scattered, although somewhat connected, but too few islands of milkweed being maintained here and there along the known paths of the monarch migration.
All of these adorable sweet lovely people, each described with affection as Dykman met them in her year-long journey, who are making a massive effort, yet each one is just an individual doing their planting in their little home plot, to coexist with wild things in their small contributions of planting wildlife-friendly gardens! As Dykman’s diary of her journey shows, the monarchs are facing a lot of man-made barriers which they are unable to surmount alone. But these little man-made backyard oases are helping. The butterflies need it. The migration involves 4 generations! The ones that begin the year-long migration will die before the end of the migration. It is the great grandchildren of the original monarchs who come back home to Mexico.
Scientists, who have been counting the monarchs (using methods of counting which are amazing btw!) have noted the monarchs are continuing to persist although their numbers are slowly declining. And the migration is becoming tougher and tougher for the butterflies. Besides the usual pollution and environmental degradation caused by the ‘progress’ of human civilization, the wonderous migration is being disturbed by rising temperatures, too. Plants are supposed to flower at the same time the monarchs arrive to mate and lay their eggs, and for the growing and molting caterpillars to feed on the milkweed’s leaves. Where the butterflies stop, the weather should not be too cold or too hot, there should be water at the proper time of the year, and their usual gathering together spots should be full of trees and plants and water. Instead, as it is for many migrating animals, the timing of growing things and arrival of migrating creatures are out of sync.
On Youtube, there are a few videos of Sara Dykman’s presentations. She does not have a lot of money, and it shows, these are not professional videos, but her heart is in the right place as it is for the organizations and groups who invite her to lecture.
I am including links to two of them:
https://youtu.be/Gy2aPBvay10?feature=...
https://youtu.be/Op3kWr_ck_M?si=P8ZWQ...
So. The miracle of the monarch migration continues. I have included a science-oriented but short New York Times Youtube video, which includes facts which are also described in the book:
https://youtu.be/RFoSpaNqqeQ?si=eOETR...
This 60 Minutes video has terrific video of the monarchs themselves:
https://youtu.be/hrXzY4DP_c8?si=rX8_X...
I am crying again.
The book includes an extensive selected references and index sections.
September 7, 2021
2.5 stars. I enjoyed the small anecdotes of Sara’s travels. I think it gave me glimpses into my grandparents experience biking across the country. However, I learned more about butterflies than I could ever care to know, and I never grasped the reason for Sara’s dedication to the butterflies. Her answer to that is simply why not care, which didn’t help me care. And her brief moments mentioning racism and climate change were too brief and underdeveloped which came off as privileged and ill informed. (Audiobook)
October 28, 2025
Sara Dykman rode 10,201 miles on her bicycle, following the path of the monarch butterfly migration from Mexico to Canada and back. This book combines a memoir about her trip with scientific information about the monarch and their loss of habitat. She discusses how individual actions can help. For example, planting native gardens, reducing chemical use, and educating others can support recovery.
During her journey, she asked people if she could camp on their property, and most people readily agreed. Some of her stories are hilarious. She was repeatedly warned about traveling alone, and had a few dicey encounters, but for the most part, she found kindness wherever she went. The author’s enthusiasm for her topic is evident. If you enjoy books about nature, travel, science, and adventure, give this one a try.
During her journey, she asked people if she could camp on their property, and most people readily agreed. Some of her stories are hilarious. She was repeatedly warned about traveling alone, and had a few dicey encounters, but for the most part, she found kindness wherever she went. The author’s enthusiasm for her topic is evident. If you enjoy books about nature, travel, science, and adventure, give this one a try.
July 3, 2021
My thanks to NetGalley and Timber Press for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
22% and DNF. I couldn't take the tone of the writer anymore. She got on my last nerve and 22% into the book and I didn't learn much more about Monarchs and their journey than I already knew. It was mostly about the author and her traveling in Mexico.
I was soldiering on, but when I got to the point where she stated that she had no respect for no trespassing laws, I had to stop. I couldn't care less about the rest of her trip and if I want to learn more about Monarch butterflies, I'm sure I can research it online and in other books that are more educational and less memoir.
Not saying this is a bad book, just the tone didn't work for me at all. I would recommend it if the above example doesn't bother you and you think the trek sounds interesting and want to learn more. 1, not for me but it might be for you, stars.
22% and DNF. I couldn't take the tone of the writer anymore. She got on my last nerve and 22% into the book and I didn't learn much more about Monarchs and their journey than I already knew. It was mostly about the author and her traveling in Mexico.
I was soldiering on, but when I got to the point where she stated that she had no respect for no trespassing laws, I had to stop. I couldn't care less about the rest of her trip and if I want to learn more about Monarch butterflies, I'm sure I can research it online and in other books that are more educational and less memoir.
Not saying this is a bad book, just the tone didn't work for me at all. I would recommend it if the above example doesn't bother you and you think the trek sounds interesting and want to learn more. 1, not for me but it might be for you, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2021
It was a great concept and overall a decent read. The author seemed to be trying to straddle the line between travel memoir and nature book, but I think I was expecting a bit more focus on the monarchs themselves than what the book actually did. The writer also mentions taking pictures and doing watercolors, but none are included, which I think is a bit of a miss.
January 20, 2022
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.
I learned a lot about monarch butterflies and their migration north from Mexico and back each year. That they only eat and lay eggs on milkweed. That the monarchs that return from the migration are the descendants of the ones who head north to begin. You can actually tag a butterfly. That monarchs can fly surprisingly fast (not just the flittering around that we see in our yards) - as much as 25 mph and can travel 100 miles in
a single day. But it was a long book to learn some facts about butterflies. The author's goal seemed to be wanting to raise awareness, which I think she accomplished; yet I struggled to understand why she felt the need to spend months bicycling their route and how doing so was that important. I'm not saying that monarchs are not important - I didn't understand why the biking of their route is an important goal.
Her anecdotes about travelling as a single female on a bike and finding places to camp were interesting.
Bottom line: I feel the need to plant milkweed.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel...
I learned a lot about monarch butterflies and their migration north from Mexico and back each year. That they only eat and lay eggs on milkweed. That the monarchs that return from the migration are the descendants of the ones who head north to begin. You can actually tag a butterfly. That monarchs can fly surprisingly fast (not just the flittering around that we see in our yards) - as much as 25 mph and can travel 100 miles in
a single day. But it was a long book to learn some facts about butterflies. The author's goal seemed to be wanting to raise awareness, which I think she accomplished; yet I struggled to understand why she felt the need to spend months bicycling their route and how doing so was that important. I'm not saying that monarchs are not important - I didn't understand why the biking of their route is an important goal.
Her anecdotes about travelling as a single female on a bike and finding places to camp were interesting.
Bottom line: I feel the need to plant milkweed.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel...
August 15, 2021
Dykman's memoir of her bicycle journey along the migration route of the monarch butterfly is a very good travelogue and introduction to the monarch. Her trip is also about evangelizing to a broader community, and to making connections along the way. I enjoyed it for the most part, but did feel the author was a little self-righteous and/or precious at times (see: frequent stops to try and rescue bugs and amphibians crossing highways, lecturing people mowing roadside vegetation, complaining about people who asked her not to camp in church courtyards); not everyone has the luxury of making a pilgrimage (crusade?), and some of these complaints might have been better addressed towards people higher up in the food chain, so to speak.
Still, Dykman is a graceful writer and her passion shines through.
Still, Dykman is a graceful writer and her passion shines through.
January 10, 2022
Spectacular feat accomplished on two wheels - this woman is the first to follow the entire monarch migration from Mexico to Canada back to Mexico. That is a whopping 10k miles! The journey she describes the highs and lows of spending so much time in the saddle, time to despair the state of the natural world, and triumphing in her own power to trust her body and intuition of strangers' kindness. She did it! And along the way I learned so many crazy things! Did you know that a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope?!!!
August 26, 2023
This book is comprised of a perfectly calibrated mixture of daring adventure and exploration, nature writing and science communication.
Dykman went on a trip, and a few things go wrong, but not very many, and certainly not in any dramatic way. She did not get murdered even a little bit. Her travelogue is vulnerable; she lets us see when she was afraid, the decisions she had to make that made her uncomfortable, the trade-offs of staying in her tent vs. staying in someone else's home, and the hassle it is to find a shower when you're travelling by bike.
When she talks about the monarchs there is always love dripping from every sentence. She's invested, and as the reader, you can't help but care as well. A great read.
Dykman went on a trip, and a few things go wrong, but not very many, and certainly not in any dramatic way. She did not get murdered even a little bit. Her travelogue is vulnerable; she lets us see when she was afraid, the decisions she had to make that made her uncomfortable, the trade-offs of staying in her tent vs. staying in someone else's home, and the hassle it is to find a shower when you're travelling by bike.
When she talks about the monarchs there is always love dripping from every sentence. She's invested, and as the reader, you can't help but care as well. A great read.
December 29, 2020
If the author had put half as much effort into the art and craft of writing as she did her physical adventure, this would have been a fun book. Couldn't get beyond pg 67. Mixed metaphors and poor word choice abounds,
February 7, 2021
Thank you Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars.
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.
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.
The writing style left something to be desired, which is most of why I rated this a 3.5. There were some very dense passages where facts and figures were told in a way that felt more like a textbook rather than a book you read for pleasure. There were also some parts that felt like they could have benefitted from more editing. But these complaints are a bit picky and didn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment of this book. I recommend this for anyone who likes travel memoirs and/or nature writing.
3.5 stars.
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.
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.
The writing style left something to be desired, which is most of why I rated this a 3.5. There were some very dense passages where facts and figures were told in a way that felt more like a textbook rather than a book you read for pleasure. There were also some parts that felt like they could have benefitted from more editing. But these complaints are a bit picky and didn't detract too much from my overall enjoyment of this book. I recommend this for anyone who likes travel memoirs and/or nature writing.
February 27, 2024
This one gets full marks for concept—a travelogue of one woman's solo journey following the Monarch migration by bicycle—but in the end I just didn't resonate with it. Some of my issues were purely personal—I can't even begin tell you how Dykman's lack of advance planning stressed me out. While I found her determination and adaptability admirable, it rubbed me the wrong way when she repeatedly ignored the advice of locals or considered herself the exception to no trespassing signs or camping rules. Another frustration was that her tone often bordered on scoldy/self-righteous when it came to habitat destruction and other factors that threaten the Monarch. I understand being frustrated and angry seeing a farmer mowing down vast swathes of the one plant the Monarch needs to survive. However, maybe the best response isn't to berate people for their ignorance, but rather to seek to understand and educate. She does a lot of education, but her tone about it just grated on me at times. That said, I did enjoy the details I learned about Monarchs, the factors that threaten them and their migration, and the work being done to save both. And there was some beautiful reflection and gorgeous nature writing throughout!
September 23, 2021
This was a beautiful ode to the majesty of monarch butterflies and one woman's amazing solo journey riding a bicycle over 10,000 miles following the migration trail from Mexico to Canada and back again. Full of fascinating details about monarch butterflies and how they are slowly losing the plants and land necessary to make the migration possible as well as insightful social commentary.
The author's dedication to educating school children and adults alike about why we should care about the butterflies shines through. Highly recommended for anyone who loves nature/adventure memoirs written by passionate women in the vein of Finding the mother tree, To speak for the trees or Not on my watch. Excellent on audio narrated by Xe Sands, I was sad when this story ended!
Favorite quote:
"The monarchs could connect us all. Reminding us that we are all creatures that deserve to be seen as amazing."
The author's dedication to educating school children and adults alike about why we should care about the butterflies shines through. Highly recommended for anyone who loves nature/adventure memoirs written by passionate women in the vein of Finding the mother tree, To speak for the trees or Not on my watch. Excellent on audio narrated by Xe Sands, I was sad when this story ended!
Favorite quote:
"The monarchs could connect us all. Reminding us that we are all creatures that deserve to be seen as amazing."
February 13, 2021
A unique and fascinating memoir by nature educator/researcher Sara Dykman, as she travels the monarch butterfly’s migration route, bicycling 10,000 miles through three countries — the first to do so. What a glorious story and an urgent one, as the author advocates for protection of this magnificent threatened species and the fragile ecosystem that supports it.
4 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 13 Apr 2021
#BicyclingwithButterflies #NetGalley
Thanks to the author, Timber Press, and to NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
4 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 13 Apr 2021
#BicyclingwithButterflies #NetGalley
Thanks to the author, Timber Press, and to NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
January 15, 2023
This book hit a sweet spot for me - it's a combination of the experiences of someone who decided to take on a huge physical challenge (biking north from Mexico to Canada and back following the migration routes of Monarchs) and nature/environmental writing. Sara Dykman is a wildlife biologist who in 2017 biked over 10,000 miles on her journey to follow the Monarchs and to expand awareness about the challenges to their survival. Monarch population has declined 85% over the last 20 years as they are impacted by habitat loss and climate change. Dykman's time on this journey allowed her to not only talk with people that she met along the way, she also gave a number of presentations at schools to increase awareness and speak to concrete steps that people could take in their own yards to provide resources for the migrating butterflies. I appreciated learning more about the monarchs and her personal physical and mental challenges of this endeavor. I could relate to her appreciation for the people who are doing the work to ensure that their yards and communities support the local ecosystem and her frustration when simple steps are not taken. There were a few times when she was drawing parallels between her own experiences on the journey and social justice issues such as immigration and racism where I felt she could have expanded more rather than just throwing in a sentence or two - but I also appreciated the awareness of the challenges she didn't face because of citizenship and race.
The quote below sums up some of what I find so important about learning more about the world around us .
"With understanding comes appreciation. Appreciation motivates action."
The quote below sums up some of what I find so important about learning more about the world around us .
"With understanding comes appreciation. Appreciation motivates action."
May 15, 2021
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.
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.
Fascinated by the monarch butterfly and its annual journey from its winter habitat in Mexico, Ms. Dykman resolves to follow the monarch’s migration on her bicycle. She rides with the butterflies north, solo, across America, into Canada, a five-thousand mile, months-long ride, and then five thousand miles back to their sanctuary in Mexico. Her journey, begun in March, 2017, ended nine months later in November.
Ten thousand miles on a bicycle: wow. It’s so many miles, demanding so much training, planning, dreaming. A profound mental commitment until it becomes the season, the day, the moment to just do it. Ms. Dykman shares the serious cyclist’s secret in the early pages of her beautifully crafted narrative:
. . . a long trip is nothing more than a collection of miles. If I could bike one mile, then I could bike two. If I could bike two, then I could bike 10,000.
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.
Bicycling with Butterflies is, in my opinion, simply the best book about adventure bicycling ever: gloves on the handlebars, feet on the pedals, bum on the saddle. I listened to the Audible book, which is elegantly, emotionally narrated by Xe Sands. Her first-person characterization is so well done I couldn’t differentiate Ms. Sands’ voiceover from the author. When I finished listening, I recommended it to some of my cycling friends. But the more I thought about it, I grew convinced there were way too many rich insights, evocative turns of phrase and memorable events which I wished to recall. That would be difficult to recapture from audio, so I bought a copy of the hardcover book and am setting into it with my yellow highlighter in hand.
The print book reveals new dimensions of Ms. Dykman’s story. That came as no surprise; from the audiobook I already knew her as an attention-to-detail person. The front matter dedication, “To the monarchs,” displays her own beautiful pen-and-ink drawing. There is a route map, an illustration of the monarch’s migration routes (yes, there are more than one), and an excellent index in the end matter. Each chapter opens with the number of days, dates and miles covered; she kept a journal and it shows.
I fully expect that by the end of my reading I’ll have hatched an idea for my own road trip, which I will, sans doute, write about in one form or another—although I have no expectations of accomplishing as many quests as has the extraordinary Sara Dykman.
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.
Fascinated by the monarch butterfly and its annual journey from its winter habitat in Mexico, Ms. Dykman resolves to follow the monarch’s migration on her bicycle. She rides with the butterflies north, solo, across America, into Canada, a five-thousand mile, months-long ride, and then five thousand miles back to their sanctuary in Mexico. Her journey, begun in March, 2017, ended nine months later in November.
Ten thousand miles on a bicycle: wow. It’s so many miles, demanding so much training, planning, dreaming. A profound mental commitment until it becomes the season, the day, the moment to just do it. Ms. Dykman shares the serious cyclist’s secret in the early pages of her beautifully crafted narrative:
. . . a long trip is nothing more than a collection of miles. If I could bike one mile, then I could bike two. If I could bike two, then I could bike 10,000.
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.
Bicycling with Butterflies is, in my opinion, simply the best book about adventure bicycling ever: gloves on the handlebars, feet on the pedals, bum on the saddle. I listened to the Audible book, which is elegantly, emotionally narrated by Xe Sands. Her first-person characterization is so well done I couldn’t differentiate Ms. Sands’ voiceover from the author. When I finished listening, I recommended it to some of my cycling friends. But the more I thought about it, I grew convinced there were way too many rich insights, evocative turns of phrase and memorable events which I wished to recall. That would be difficult to recapture from audio, so I bought a copy of the hardcover book and am setting into it with my yellow highlighter in hand.
The print book reveals new dimensions of Ms. Dykman’s story. That came as no surprise; from the audiobook I already knew her as an attention-to-detail person. The front matter dedication, “To the monarchs,” displays her own beautiful pen-and-ink drawing. There is a route map, an illustration of the monarch’s migration routes (yes, there are more than one), and an excellent index in the end matter. Each chapter opens with the number of days, dates and miles covered; she kept a journal and it shows.
I fully expect that by the end of my reading I’ll have hatched an idea for my own road trip, which I will, sans doute, write about in one form or another—although I have no expectations of accomplishing as many quests as has the extraordinary Sara Dykman.
August 5, 2024
I would give this 3.5. I'm not big on memoirs, but Sara is a pretty good writer and I enjoyed her descriptions of her bicycle journey and the folks she met along the way. She did a good job advocating for the monarch butterfly and explaining the reasons for their decline in a non-technical way. (She's already a bit outdated on the science, but that's not her fault, updates come all the time). Having done some long-distance hiking, I could relate to some of her experiences with that lifestyle and the comments you get from others who don't understand. I enjoyed those parts of the book a lot - her descriptions of how she found food, places to sleep, etc.
That being said, the writing dragged on in the middle and got repetitive, it took me a long time to finish. It felt at times a chore. You could tell that the author was often (understandably) angry about environmental concerns, but it took the form of her alternating between condescension toward say, car drivers, and a forced effort at optimism that didn't always ring true.
I'm impressed with her journey, and I'm glad I read the book. But I'm also glad that I'm finished.
That being said, the writing dragged on in the middle and got repetitive, it took me a long time to finish. It felt at times a chore. You could tell that the author was often (understandably) angry about environmental concerns, but it took the form of her alternating between condescension toward say, car drivers, and a forced effort at optimism that didn't always ring true.
I'm impressed with her journey, and I'm glad I read the book. But I'm also glad that I'm finished.
November 30, 2021
Sara Dykman follows the monarchs over 10,000 miles on a bicycle as the butterflies migrate from Mexico to Canada and then back from Canada to Mexico again. Dykman is a real explorer, choosing to travel alone on a bike, camping out most nights in a tent outdoors. She gets testy sometimes with the questions people ask ("Are you crazy? Why would you travel by yourself? And with no gun? Or even mace?") and she worries a lot about the migrating monarchs. Along the way, she stops to occasionally stay with a fellow monarch advocate, and she also speaks to groups at schools and any other place that can get people together about the monarchs.
I learned a lot about monarchs from this book, and I definitely know that I will never, ever (honestly, I could never, ever) travel 10,000+ miles on a bicycle to observe and promote the monarchs like Sara Dykman. But I definitely will do more as an individual to tell others about the monarchs' cause.
I learned a lot about monarchs from this book, and I definitely know that I will never, ever (honestly, I could never, ever) travel 10,000+ miles on a bicycle to observe and promote the monarchs like Sara Dykman. But I definitely will do more as an individual to tell others about the monarchs' cause.
February 19, 2021
This book was interesting for the first half then got a little boring to be honest. I learned a lot interesting facts about monarchs !!
Butterflies are my favorite animal and I loved hearing the journey of a bicyclist chasing the monarchs! It overall had a good ending!
Honestly I skimmed through most of it 😓
Butterflies are my favorite animal and I loved hearing the journey of a bicyclist chasing the monarchs! It overall had a good ending!
Honestly I skimmed through most of it 😓
November 26, 2023
Very nice, an examination of the migration landscapes more than the butterflies, which is perfect given the transformations that must occur to make the land healthy for all. A large majority of people want this, and we should not trust people who don’t.
Along those lines, it is funny how Dykman’s couple of comments about private property, in the middle of so many important things, get some reviewers so riled up. The butterflies don’t give a damn. Many other things than you have, do, and will use your property, and likewise what you do affects things well beyond those lines.
Private property purists have recently gotten the Supreme Court to greatly weaken watershed protections in ways that ignore biology and common sense and stop essentially all impact analysis at those little lines. When you think property rights are so strong that you have no obligation to consider almost any other thing, well it seems to me you are not responsible enough to own property. You are not a steward of the land.
Along those lines, it is funny how Dykman’s couple of comments about private property, in the middle of so many important things, get some reviewers so riled up. The butterflies don’t give a damn. Many other things than you have, do, and will use your property, and likewise what you do affects things well beyond those lines.
Private property purists have recently gotten the Supreme Court to greatly weaken watershed protections in ways that ignore biology and common sense and stop essentially all impact analysis at those little lines. When you think property rights are so strong that you have no obligation to consider almost any other thing, well it seems to me you are not responsible enough to own property. You are not a steward of the land.
July 7, 2022
How would you like to immerse yourself in 10,000 mile trip from Michoacan, Mexico to Ontario, Canada, eastward to Maine and then continue southward back to Michoacan, all the while following monarch butterflies on their annual migration? If you do it with Sara Dykman you need boldness and boundless energy.
Dykman did it solo free camping along the way. To bring awareness to the monarch's plight and beauty, she gave numerous talks along the way and had homestays and visits with some amazing folks.
Dykman is knowledgeable and opinionated and sometimes a little out there, but it was indeed fun to travel with her. She stops to herd various animals across the road, when she observes milkweed and butterflies. She has strong feelings and opinions about any number issues and as you read you will find out about them.
The bottom line is she has a good heart and made an amazing journey.
Dykman did it solo free camping along the way. To bring awareness to the monarch's plight and beauty, she gave numerous talks along the way and had homestays and visits with some amazing folks.
Dykman is knowledgeable and opinionated and sometimes a little out there, but it was indeed fun to travel with her. She stops to herd various animals across the road, when she observes milkweed and butterflies. She has strong feelings and opinions about any number issues and as you read you will find out about them.
The bottom line is she has a good heart and made an amazing journey.
June 17, 2024
08:20 audiobook read by Xe Sands.
Sara Dykman's 10,000 mile solo bike adventure from Mexico to Canada and back to follow and bring awareness to the Monarch butterfly.
Xe Sands narration is like ASMR; I found myself tuning in and out. Based on other reviews here, I'm not sure the print book is a better experience.
Dykman is very INTENSE about conservation, social justice, feminism, climate change, cycling and basically...everything so the book often switches focus off of the Monarch.
There's some neat Monarch information in here and I love the idea of this adventure but this could have been a better book.
Sara Dykman's 10,000 mile solo bike adventure from Mexico to Canada and back to follow and bring awareness to the Monarch butterfly.
Xe Sands narration is like ASMR; I found myself tuning in and out. Based on other reviews here, I'm not sure the print book is a better experience.
Dykman is very INTENSE about conservation, social justice, feminism, climate change, cycling and basically...everything so the book often switches focus off of the Monarch.
There's some neat Monarch information in here and I love the idea of this adventure but this could have been a better book.
February 20, 2025
I'm fascinated by these solo journeys that people take. I'll be honest sometimes I'm a little jealous. The author Sara Dykman completed a 10, 201 mile journey by bicycle. I'm so happy she decided to write a book to record her travels. I also admire the fact that she stopped at schools along the way, and also challenged people to consider planting more milkweek for the monarchs. Her free attitude about not planning where she was staying most nights impressed me. In the end, this book was beautifully written, and it kept the monarch at the center of its narrative.
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