Dog Days Wine Tour

Sizing and Ordering

Click here to see tshirt and jersey sizing and find out how to measure for jersey size. Use both of the guides together to find your size.

Click here to visit our PayPal registration page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early can I register and get on the road? 
The registration area will open around 6:00 a.m. the morning of the ride. The Double Dog Dare riders will want to be on the road around 6:30 and certainly by 7:30 a.m.. If you are riding the shorter distances you will want to be on the road no later than 9 or 10 a.m. Our rest stops will have staggered times of operation which will be posted in the main pavilion and listed on the route maps. Registration hours are 6 to 10 a.m. 

Can I register the day of the event? 
Certainly – many people wait until later to register for a lot of reasons. It makes some of our planning more challenging and you’ll take your chances on merchandise which are determined by pre-registrations. Onsite registrants will still participate in our cookout at the end of the ride. Tee Shirts and Wine Bags are sold on a first come, first served basis. We have only a limited supply of both.

What kind of support will be offered? 
We will have drivers covering and positioned along the routes. They will be able to assist with simple mechanical problems and flats only. They will also transport anyone not able to complete the route. First aid supplies will be available for the rider to self-administer. At least one bike shop will have mechanics at one of the central rest stops to help with basic mechanical problems. Swerve Bike Shop is located in downtown Oberlin for more complicated problems.

What are the routes really like?
Mostly flat with some rolling areas. The two longer routes have some modest hills to enjoy.  The routes are almost entirely on country roads but a few low volume highways need to be crossed. Riders will travel a short ways on State Route 303, which does not have much traffic.

Can I buy wine on the ride? Do I have to carry it on my bike? 
Yes, you can purchase some wine bottles at each of the wineries if you wish. They take cash, credit cards and checks. If you anticipate that you might want to make a wine purchase, make sure to carry money or credit card with you. Prices range from $6 to around $18. Your wine will be delivered back to the starting area for you. Be sure your name is on the bag. You will be able to enjoy your purchase at the cookout if you wish. Ohio law requires that wineries charge a small fee for wine samples.

Is it safe to drink wine and ride? 
The wine that will be offered to you for sampling at the wineries will be in 1 oz. or smaller portions. These are for tasting so you can make a purchase decision, the same as any wine tasting. How one or two ounces affects you varies per person based on body mass and amount of food also ingested. We suggest that you do not sample very much wine at the rest stops.

We do suggest that if you do sample the wine, you also eat plenty of  food along with the samples. Cheese and crackers go well with wine for a reason. In the case of a ride, some carbs and protein will help balance out the effects small amounts of alcohol might have. Hydration is always important on rides like this and extra hydration will help dilute any alcohol in your system. Our volunteers at the rest stop might ask you to wait a while before resumng your ride. Or you might request a lift back to the start.

I’m a slow rider; will you close up while I’m out on the road? 
We will not close our cookout area before all riders have returned. The support vans will sweep the routes late in the afternoon; any riders not back by 6 p.m. will be asked to ride in the van. The cookout is scheduled for 12 to 7.  The last rest stop is scheduled to close by 6.

I’m new to rides like this. Will the routes be marked? 
We use a route marking system unique to this event: a wine bottle with an arrow point to indicate every turn and sometimes to indicate going straight through an intersection. We use the standard two signs before and one after the turn method. Each of the routes will have a different color. There will be a sign at the start to show you what the route marker looks like. Quality maps and cue sheets for each route are provided as well. The routes will be together often so you need to be watchful for when your route changes direction: this will always be well marked for you. The maps and cue sheets show turns and the accumulated mileage for your route. We haven’t lost anyone yet, although if you do not pay attention you could possibly get off the route. That is why we offer you markers, maps and cue sheets.

Can I change routes after I have started on one?
Yes and that happens often we’ve learned. Late July can have some high temperatures and high humidity that helps us change our minds about the distance intended. Ask at the rest stops where you could alter your plans. In general, anytime you want the shorter route, switch to the GREEN route marker.

Will I be able to freshen up between the ride and the cookout? 
The starting place (a pavilion) has running water and flush toilets but no showers. You will be able to rinse off your road grime but that’s about it. If there’s any consolation to it, we’ll all be about equally “fresh.”

The literature lists massage for this year: how does that work?
We expect to have at least one massage therapist on hand to offer basic muscle massage for a modest fee ($1 per minute). When you return from your ride you will make your appointment then. An area inside the airconditioned registration room will be set up for this. This is offered as a service to our guests; all fees are kept by the therapist.

Do the longer routes just do multiples or are they unduplicated?
We believe our guests deserve the best routing we can design. To simply have you repeat a route would be very boring at the least. The 90- mile and the 125-mile routes follow similar routes but the longer one goes on to additional territory. It does, however, come back to a common rest stop in an opposite direction for a short ways. These two routes are well-designed for variety and interest, offering some of the most scenic views in our area.

What happens if it rains?
This is a rain-or-shine event. One year we did have some rain and it was less than optimal, but all riders still had a good time. Once you’re wet you can’t get any wetter. Mid-Summer in Northern Ohio can conjure up all sorts of weather potentially but usually it is pretty warm: in the 70s or 80s and winds will often pick up in the afternoon. Our routes are designed for the usual westerly winds to offer you a bit of a tailwind at the end of your ride.

What about fog?
In 2011 we had some dense fog early in the morning. We may exercise our vigilance and recommend you not begin your ride if we feel fog makes your ride dangerous.

Are helmets required?
Absolutely! We strongly believe in the value of a cycling helmet. It is no joke that helmets reduce the risk of severe cranial damage by 85% in the event of a fall.

If you have additional questions you can contact the tour director, Ed Stewart, by email or by phone at 440-365-6784.

Training for Long Rides

ASK COACH FRED (Training & Nutrition Tips)

What’s the Danger Pace on Long Rides?

(From www.RoadBikeRider, 4/7/11, Fred Matheny, author)

Question: In three weeks I will ride my first 300K (186-mile) brevet. A friend told me that the rule for pacing long rides is: Never go anaerobic. Sounds like smart advice, but how can I tell when I’m in danger of doing it? — Bud S.

Coach Fred Replies: You’re talking about the “anaerobic threshold,” a phrase used for many years. Nowadays, the preferred terms are lactate threshold (LT) or OBLA (onset of blood lactate accumulation).

To simplify the physiology, as you increase intensity, your body produces lactate. At relatively low workloads, the lactate is cleared readily. But at higher intensities, it builds up and you slow down rather dramatically.

The term “lactate threshold” refers to the intensity at which your body can no longer clear the lactate accumulation. Fit cyclists can sustain a threshold heart rate (about 90% of their maximum) for an hour. On longer rides, like your 300K, you’ll need to reduce your average heart rate considerably below that figure to last the distance.

You don’t need a heart monitor to do it. The trick is to ride at a pace that keeps your breathing regular. When breathing becomes forced it’s a sure sign you’re asking your system to clear a lot of excess lactate. Doing so uses muscle fuel and almost certainly means you’ll ride slower later in the event.

The trick is to keep your enthusiasm under control, especially on climbs or in pacelines where you might be forced to ride too hard. That said, you can gain quite a bit of time on hills if you carefully elevate the pace to just below your LT and recover on the descents. But in a long event, you need to be extremely careful with this strategy because a foray or two over LT can cost you dearly.

Bottom line: If you’re breathing hard during a long ride, you’re probably in trouble – unless you’re so fit that extended efforts near your LT are possible. But riding that hard usually exacts a high price later in the event.

The only way to learn your maximum safe pace is to get experience in longer events. This is one of the educational benefits of a brevet series. With progressive distances of 200, 300, 400 and 600K, riders learn plenty about pacing and endurance.

Lots of us know what it’s like to push too hard early in a century or double century, then pay the price. But that’s actually an effective way to learn for sure where the limit is.