I don’t know about you, but I thought I was pretty brave until I read Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman, our One Book, One City book choice this year. Ms. Dykman’s idea for her over 10,000-mile bike ride following the migratory trek of the monarch butterfly sounded daunting, and seemed impossible to this reader. Nevertheless, the author set her goal, planned for it, and then went out there and accomplished it. Talk about realizing your dreams!
I’m inspired -not to embark upon quite such a bike ride- but to instead appreciate that we humans can really get things done when we set out to do so. Like Ms. Dykman, we are bound to make some ‘wrong turns’ along the way, but if we persevere, we can and will succeed.
I’m eager to hear more about her ride among the beautiful Monarchs and will be lucky enough to do so when the author will be available at our virtual Q&A on Monday, August 2 at 6pm. Aren’t you? Register here and I sure hope to ‘see’ you there!
This is our last week to read Bicycling with Butterflies together before the author answers our extra questions about monarchs and give us the dirt on what it’s like to bicycle from Mexico to Canada and back!
Don’t forget, if you want to read a book inspired by Bicycling with Butterflies, check out the digital collection or call the library 440.333.7610 x5501 for suggestions!
And check out what’s happening on the Children’s Department blog, RRPL Kid’s Depot, where you’ll find even more fun things to try out this Summer!!
Rocky River, are you ready to read together? Us too! Let’s get into it and turn that page
Week Four
Chapters 23-31
1. Are you looking at all the creatures in your garden and in the woods a little differently now? Have you been inspired to do some of your own research on any caterpillars or beetles you’ve seen?
2. At this point, the author has moved many creatures out of harm’s way. Have you ever stopped to help a skunk, a turtle, or a caterpillar find a safer path than the one they were on, or would you consider it now?
3. Did you feel the tension growing when the author gave the potential risks and rewards for where eggs are laid during the pre-migration phases of the monarch’s journey? Based on everything you’ve read; do you have a guess at which approach might increase the rate of survival?
4. The author writes, “The more we know, the more we know just how much we don’t know.” With so many new ideas introduced in this book, are you feeling more empowered to make small changes or large ones? Has one of the topics discussed caught your attention, intriguing you enough to dig deeper into what you can find?
Programs happening soon:
One Book, One City Live Q & A with Sara Dykman
Monday, August 2
6:00 -7:30 pm
All ages are invited to hear more about what the author experienced while following the migratory path of monarch butterflies. Questions for the author can be submitted in advance to communityservices@rrpl.org or asked during this live event. Register here to reserve your space!
Like Sara Dykman’s journey in her book, Bicycling with Butterflies, monarch butterflies face a perilous journey of survival. If you’ve followed our blog this past month, you might wonder if monarch butterflies are an endangered species.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a bureau within the Department of the Interior and the premier government agency dedicated to the conservation, protection, and enhancement of fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats, the answer is, sadly, not yet.
On December 15, 2020, the bureau announced that while listing the Monarch as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act is warranted, the Monarch is still just a candidate in this process and its status remains under review annually until a decision is made.
Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), plant and animal species may be listed as either endangered or threatened. “Endangered” means a species is in danger of extinction. “Threatened” means a species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.’
Gently gliding into week three of our One Book, One City program and there’s still plenty of time to catch up (if you’re behind) or do a little extra research (if you’re ahead) of the buddy read schedule! There are also still plenty of programs coming over the next two weeks, including the Live Q & A with Sara Dykman on Monday, August 2, at 6:00pm -register here to reserve your space!
If you want to read a book inspired by Bicycling with Butterflies, check out the digital collection or call the library 440.333.7610 x5501 for suggestions!
And don’t forget to check out what’s happening on the Children’s Department blog, RRPL Kid’s Depot, where you’ll find even more fun things to try out this Summer!!
Rocky River, are you ready to read together? Us too! Let’s get into it and turn that page
Week Three Chapters 16-22 1. How would you have responded if you were the one riding by freshly cut wildflowers and weeds, knowing there was milkweed and monarch offspring included in the cuttings?
2. After learning how the monarchs and milkweed have continuously adapted in response to each other, monarchs trying to get around the milkweed plant’s ever-changing defenses, can you predict a final outcome in this tug-of-war?
3. Have you visited the pollinator garden at the library? What kinds of pollinators do you think we’ll be attracting? What would you plant in your own garden to tempt bees or butterflies?
4. Were you also surprised at how long it takes a monarch to grow from an egg to a butterfly? Do you think you’ll be able to spot the monarchs, in all the different stages, moving through Northeast Ohio more easily now? Where do you think it is a good place to start looking?
Programs happening soon: BIKE SMARTS: FAMILY CYCLING Tuesday, July 20 6:30-7:30 p.m. Parents and children are invited to learn all about how to cycle safely together in this family focused bike education program. Helmet tips, child carrier information, and more will be shared. Presented by Bike Cleveland.
Tween Green Team: Bicycles and Butterflies Edition For students completing grades 4-6 Wednesday, July 21 2:00 to 3:00 pm Put on your helmet and join us for a bike ride to learn all about butterflies and their special role in our ecosystem! After the ride, take home a kit to make a butterfly feeding station and seeds to start your own butterfly garden.
Have you been loving Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman? Perhaps you finished it already and are looking for something similar to read? As someone who admittedly doesn’t read much non-fiction, this book inspired me to consider adding more nature focused non-fiction titles to my ever growing to-read pile.
Below you’ll find some suggested read-alike titles, including some stellar nature and travel writing.
If you’ve ever lost someone close to you, perhaps you like to imagine that their spirit is visiting you when a butterfly crosses your path. I know I do. It turns out that there is a good reason for that.
According to the smart folks at Baylor University, since Ancient times, the winged form of a butterfly was a symbol for the human soul. You can see this symbolism in Ancient Egypt, the Ancient Greek civilization and in Native American cultures, among others. One example comes from the The Aztecs, who believed that happy dead, in the form of beautiful butterflies, would visit their relatives to assure them that all was well.
In Andalusian Spain, an heir was expected to throw wine over the ashes of the deceased as a toast to the butterfly that would escape with the soul.
Butterflies are also symbolic in Christian imagery. In depictions of the Garden of Eden, the soul of Adam is symbolized by a butterfly, or drawn with butterfly wings, and the Gnostics depicted the Angel of Death by showing a winged foot stepping on a butterfly.
Sara Dykman, in Bicycling with Butterflies, must have felt blessed indeed with all the “souls” she witnessed on her 10,000 journey following migrating Monarchs. Have you started reading yet?
I’m inspired to hang out with butterflies, and this weekend I plan to head to the Butterfly House at the Miller Nature Preserve, part of the Lorain County Metroparks. Visiting the Butterfly House is free and open to the public from mid-June through Labor Day. I can’t wait!
For more inspiration, plan to keep reading all about butterflies with us this month. Until next time, keep looking up! ~Carol
Here we are at the start of the second full week of our One Book, One City program and hopefully we’re all taking another look at all the interesting creatures right outside our doors. If you haven’t started the book, don’t worry! We’ll be enjoying this book and all the accompanying programs all the way through Monday, August 2, when Sara Dykman will be answering your questions (virtually) at 6:00pm -register here to reserve your space!
If you want to read a book inspired by Bicycling with Butterflies, check out the digital collection or call the library 440.333.7610 x5501 for suggestions!
And don’t forget to check out what’s happening on the Children’s Department blog, RRPL Kid’s Depot, where you’ll find even more fun things to try out this Summer!!
Rocky River, are you ready to read together? Us too! Let’s get into it and turn that page
Week Two
Chapters 8-15
1. If you were planning the bike route, where do you think you could find the right data for deciding which roads to take and locations good for stopping?
2. Have you heard of native seeds or native planting before? What do you think about this movement, and would you be willing to try it out in your own backyard? Do you know what plants are native to this area?
3. If you’re interested in learning more about monarch butterflies being suggested for inclusion on the Endangered Species Act, check out this great page created by Phytophagy Lab at Cornell University.
4. Who else went searching for the different ways you can participate with Monarch Watch?
To go along with this summer’s One City, One Book, join us virtually for songs, stories and a craft about the beautiful monarch butterfly. An activity kit will be available to pick up prior to the program. A link of the program will be sent the day of the event.
Biologist, outdoor educator, and author of Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration, Sara Dykman, rode an impressive distance on her bicycle to follow the monarch butterfly migration. My first thought when hearing about this immense feat was- how in the world did she bike that far?! As someone who only bikes around my neighborhood, and occasionally a bike trail in the Cleveland Metroparks, I couldn’t fathom riding thousands of miles across the country on a bike. Naturally, being a librarian and all, I was inspired to take a look at how one might go about such a trip and tips for embarking on your own adventure cycling trip!
Dykman was not new to bike touring, as she shares in this article from Treehugger. She says, “I was actually on a year-long bike tour, traveling from Bolivia to the United States when I first had the idea to follow the monarch butterflies.” She also shares a bit about her bike in the article, describing it as, “… an old, rusty steel mountain bike frame from the ‘80s, the components were newish, cleanish, and ready to get me down the road. Most people were shocked at how unfancy my bike was, especially when it was saddled with my homemade kitty-litter-bucket panniers. It might not have been light or pretty, but my no-frills bike is a reliable machine.”
Dykman took extensive photos on her trip and you can check them out on her website here and see all the places she’s biked!
If you are feeling inspired to do your own adventure biking trip but aren’t sure where to start, you’ll want to work your way up to long distances. Whether you have an old mountain bike or a fancy new all-terrain bike, you’ll want to get your bike in tip-top shape before you venture out. Here is a list of tips from Adventurecycling.org on items to contemplate prior to setting out on your trip.
Make final purchases of clothing and equipment.
Make certain that all repairs and maintenance, including lubrication, are made on your bike.
Buy an extra pair of glasses, or contacts, and get a copy of your prescription.
Continue your training rides, working up to 50- to 70-mile day rides on weekends. (You might try for a century — 100 miles in a day — if you’re taking a trip of more than three weeks.) Seek out hills and varied terrain, attempting to simulate the type of riding you’ll encounter on your tour, and do some rides with fully loaded packs to test for proper weight distribution.
Make arrangements for paying any monthly bills coming due during your absence.
Make sure you have used all your equipment and know how it works. Make all final adjustments to your bike.
Continue training rides; try to do at least one overnight “shakedown” trip with a fully loaded bike. It’s better to discover and take care of problems before your tour begins.
Pack your bike in a reinforced box and ship it, if it’s not traveling with you.
Pick up your travel tickets.
Buy traveler’s checks for emergency and spending money.
Fill medical prescriptions to last longer than your trip.
Cancel your newspaper delivery.
Change mail delivery or have mail held at the post office.
Image from Adventurecycling.org
You can find travel tips for your first bike tour here from The Adventure Junkies. There are plenty of great blogs out there that you can check out with information on bikepacking, adventure cycling, and bike touring such as Cycling About and Bikepacking.
For more resources, we have plenty of great materials at the library, including a variety of digital cycling magazines you can access from the comfort of home.
Finally, we recently had Deltrece Daniels from Bike Cleveland offer a virtual program all about Adventure Cycling. Keep your eyes peeled on this blog for that recording in the coming weeks.
Have you ever taken a long distance biking trip? Are you planning one? We’d love to hear about your adventure cycling, so please share with us in the comments!
Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration
It’s summer, so hopefully there is more time to relax and read. The Rocky River Public Library invites adults and teens to read Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman as part of our “Tails and Tales” summer reading program.
In addition to reading the book, it’s a chance to do a little research on monarch butterflies using the library’s databases. They are available at https://rrpl.org/research-tools/ under “Newspapers & Magazines”. I heartily recommend the “National Geographic” index which offers full-text articles from 1888-1994. Another excellent source is EBSCOhost. (Some of National Geographic is also included in EBSCOhost.) In that source patrons have access to hundreds of full-text magazines. You can limit your search to articles with full color photographs. You can limit your search to “cover story” articles.
It’s my suggestion to check out the databases before beginning the adventure shared in Bicycling with Butterflies.
Read it or Weep 