The Ohio Valley Trail Partners want more people to view the Friendly City as a destination for outdoor enthusiasts. If the rapid growth of the Wheeling Heritage Trail Bicycle Tour is any indication, their efforts are having an impact.
The fourth annual event is set for May 30, beginning at Heritage Port. Participation this year is expected to eclipse 200 - up from about 50 for the first tour just three years ago, according to co-director Rob Reed.
Reed, owner of the Quick Service Bicycle Shop in Bridgeport, said the tour is a non-competitive event designed both to promote fitness and as a fundraiser for the nonprofit trail organization. And for the first time, the tour will feature a swap meet at Heritage Port, open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the day of the event.
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Photo by Ian Hicks
David Crow, left, shop manger for Quick Service Bicycle Shop in Bridgeport, and Rob Reed, store owner and co-director of the Wheeling Heritage Trail Bicycle Tour, prepare for the fourth annual event, slated for May 30 beginning at Heritage Port.
"The swap meet's something new this year, to just kind of enhance the whole activity and hopefully bring some more riders in," said Reed.
Also new for 2010 is the "Passport to Wheeling Heritage," where participants can pick up a "passport" upon registration and use it to learn about Wheeling's history along the way.
Participants can choose from three different courses, each of which begin and end at Heritage Port: a 10-mile run that extends to Elm Grove and back; a 25-mile run that includes the 10-mile course and continues up the Ohio River to Pike Island Lock and Dam and back; and a more rigorous 100-kilometer course (62.5 miles), which adds a 20-mile loop through the hilly country around West Liberty and Bethany.
While the event is not a race, Reed said some people do engage in friendly competition anyway.
"Usually the more competitive riders pick (the 100-km course) and ride it as fast as they can," he said. "Of course, they don't get any prizes for finishing first."
Reed said trails like Wheeling's and others in the area enhance residents' quality of life, and allows them to enjoy recreational time where they otherwise might not.
"There are folks who will not ride a bicycle in traffic," he said. "When you get them on the trail, they can relax and have some fun."
Local trail enthusiasts are working to create a 430-mile unbroken stretch of trail from Wheeling to Washington, D.C. Funding already has been secured to connect the Wheeling trail with the nearby Brooke Pioneer trail, which leaves only a 7-mile link to the Montour Trail in Pennsylvania to complete the network.
But their dream does not end there - not by a long shot.
"Our vision is to connect a nationwide trail from Washington, D.C., to the West Coast," said Reed.
Registration for the tour begins at 9 a.m. May 30 at the waterfront, an hour before the start of the event. Fees cover a pre-tour safety check, refreshments at rest stops, lunch, ride assistance and T-shirts for the first 200 participants.