Photo provided Participants in a past Wheeling Heritage Trail Tour make their way through Wheeling.

WHEELING — The 18th annual Wheeling Heritage Trail Tour begins at 7 a.m. May 25 at Heritage Port as part of the Ogden Newspapers Wellness Weekend.

The Ohio Valley Trail Partners, which presents the tour, is a Wheeling-based group that works to promote biking in the Ohio Valley.

The group’s main fundraiser is the Heritage Trail Ride that takes place Memorial Day weekend. OVTP will again partner with The Times Leader, The Intelligencer and the Wheeling News-Register by including the trail ride as part of the May 24-25 weekend of wellness events.

Early registration for the ride can be done at the Wellness Weekend website ogdenwellnessweekend.com. Scroll down the page to “Register Now.” The fee varies by the length of ride – 60 miles, 30 miles or 10 miles. There is a special rate of $10 for youth under 17 and a family rate (up to five people) for $35.

The bicycle tour will kick off at 8 a.m. with the 100K riders, followed by the 50K route at 8:30 a.m. and the 15K ride at 9 a.m.

OVTP is a group of local bicycling enthusiasts who strive to improve and enhance the Heritage Trail. The annual Memorial Day weekend bicycle event serves as a fundraiser to help support OVTP efforts. Some of the aid provided by OVTP in the past includes:

The organization gave approximately $8,000 to the city of Wheeling to patch cracks on the Heritage Trail. Since then, the city repaved 3-4 miles of the trail.

The group purchased two bike repair stations costing over $1,700 each. The city erected them near WesBanco Arena and in Warwood. It purchased a third station to replace the damaged unit by WesBanco Arena.

OVTP purchased two bike racks and is planning to purchase more.

It treated eight trail bridges using volunteers and Boy Scouts. Some bridges have been retreated through the years. Trail Partners supplied the deck treatment and equipment, as well as labor.

OVTP provided portable restroom facilities each spring, summer and fall in Elm Grove and at the Pike Island Dam.

The Ohio Valley Trail Partners is a volunteer organization that seeks to advocate for trails and other bicycle and pedestrian connections in Ohio Valley communities. If you are a cyclist, a person who enjoys trails or an outdoor enthusiast, and/or if you have a skillset that could benefit the work that it does including website building or social media, you are invited to join the group. Ideas and proposed projects are always welcome. The annual fundraiser trail ride enables the group to buy trail amenities and do maintenance as needed.

You can contact Ohio Valley Trail Partners at P.O. Box 2001, Wheeling, WV 26003 or 740-635-3700.

Other Wellness Weekend events include the Half Marathon Classic, the 5K Walk & Run, the children’s Fun Run and the Tiny Tot Trot on May 24, followed by the Tough as Nails Urban Challenge on May 25.

Registration and information about all the events is available at ogdenwellnessweekend.com.