January 2023
In 2017 Sara Dykman became the first person to bicycle the entire route of the migrating monarch butterfly. She traveled from Mexico to Canada and back on old mountain bike weighted down with all the supplies she would need for nine months on the road. Along her 10,201 mile route Dykman gave presentations to people about the monarchs and what people can do to protect the migration. She became a voice for the monarchs. Now her voice has the potential to travel even further, with the launch of her book, “Bicycling with Butterflies”. Part science, part adventure, part love letter to nature, Dykman hopes her book will inspire people to see the beauty of our own backyards and the power each of us has to be part of the solution.
Sara Dykman is the founder of beyondabook.org, which fosters lifelong learners, boundary pushers, explorers, and stewards. She works in amphibian research and as an outdoor educator, guiding young people into nature so they can delight in its complicated brilliance. She hopes her own adventures—walking from Mexico to Canada, canoeing the Missouri River from source to sea, and cycling over 80,000 miles across North and South America (including the monarch migration trip)—will empower young and old to dream big.