As one might expect, attempting a race such as the Iditarod Trail Invitational has earned Homer a share of attention and notoriety. Her blog, arcticglass.blogspot.com, is one of the most popular cycling blogs on the Internet. In it, she details her life on two wheels amid the beauty and isolation of Alaska.

The stunning photography and descriptive writing earned her a nomination for best sports blog in the 2008 Bloggie Awards.

"Her blog has been a great blessing," Sheri Homer said. "We don't get to talk to her every day. But we can read her blog and we feel pretty connected to her."

Her almost daily posts include pictures of the routes she rides and detailed memories of her day. Some days are rest days; others include relatively short 25-mile rides.

Then there are days like Dec. 27.

On that day, Homer began her ride early in the morning. Long before the sun decided to poke its head out for its brief December appearance, Homer hit the road at about 8:30 a.m. Ten hours and 111.5 miles later, she rolled back to her home to celebrate a long day (and night) of cycling through the cold, dark beauty of southern Alaska.

"I could see sunlight on the mountain tops for most of this 'mostly cloudy' day," she wrote, "but the sun was always too low on the horizon for any light to touch the ground."

She competed in the Susitna 100 race in Alaska last year and has now upgraded her endurance ambitions to the 350-mile challenge that awaits her in late February as she pedals across the central wilderness of her adopted home state.

"I thought it would be a fun challenge just to train for it," she said.

Her father, Jed, may be the source of her adventurous spirit. The family frequently did outdoor activities like camping and whitewater rafting. But even he was surprised to see the extent she's taken her hobby.

"She's always had extreme kind of leanings," Jed Homer said. "Obviously, on one side there's concern. On the other side, we want to support her all the way. .. When she does things in extreme conditions like this, you can't make mistakes or there's a big price you have to pay. But she's always been extremely careful and prepared for everything she does."

Though Utah has "the greatest snow on earth," Homer didn't begin her frosty wanderings until she moved to Alaska. An avid recreational cyclist until then, Homer found herself devoting many hours per day to her bike. The journeys, though certainly a physical test, became therapeutic in many ways — especially during the long winter months when sunlight is rare.

"You have to get out just to keep your mental health," she said.