<\/a>Peter Delamere captured this moonlight shot of the Alaska Range as he approached Rainy Pass by fat bike during the 2024 Iditarod Trail Invitational Race. (Photo by Peter Delamere)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Delamere, a 54-year-old who knows more than most people about Jupiter and its constant display of aurorae, Saturn, Pluto, comets and other features far beyond the Earth, finished the 350-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational race on snowmachine trails from Knik to McGrath a few weeks ago. He arrived in third place, one hour in front of his nearest competitor.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Delamere calls himself a hack when compared to the fastest bike racers, but the facts don’t support it. Neither do my eyes when I have accompanied him on journeys. Not only does he zip along while deploying that somewhat plodding method of movement (10 mph is a speedy average for a bike with wheels as thick as a loaf of bread), but he has a scientist’s eye for detail.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
For example, he is at heart a cross-country skier who nails the kick wax every time. His bike is tuned to precision and the camping gear he pulls out of his panniers seems just right: not too heavy, but puffy enough to provide warmth on the coldest bivouacs — such as the several he experienced on his trip to McGrath. He finished his journey in 3 days, 20 hours, for an average of about 100 miles covered each late-winter day.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Those bivouacs were short sleep sessions on the snow just off the trail. During them, he would kick his way into his sleeping bag fully clothed. The cold usually woke up the physicist, for a reason he understood.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“The problem with wearing boots in a sleeping bag is that the cold thermal mass of the boot will eventually freeze your feet,” he said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Delamere estimates he slept about a dozen hours total when he was on the trail, with most sessions coming in the form of one-hour naps. Somehow, Delamere felt recharged after crawling out of his sleeping bag.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“Also, the good news is that packing a bivvy at minus 40 warms you up,” he said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Researchers have found that athletes seem to finish faster in footraces that are 100 miles and shorter when they don’t stop to sleep. However, when the distance increases, a person’s circadian rhythms tuned to day length require at least a few short sleep sessions, such as Delamere’s hour-in-the-bushes strategy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“In general, I function reasonably well after a nap,” he said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t