Todd Fogal rode for 16 miles around Beaumont city streets one night last week but didn't feel like he got a good workout.

The 35-year old Beaumont computer technician is in training for a long-distance bike ride between Houston and Austin and will soon increase his distances to a couple of hundred miles a week.

"(Cyclists) definitely like long stretches," he said. "Length is very important. You've got to have trails in length to make them attractive to some people."

A proposal by Big Thicket National Preserve officials to convert part of what could become Business 69 in Hardin County into a bicycle lane when the proposed new U.S. 69 comes on line would be a welcome addition to an area lacking in trails, said Fogal, a member of the soon-to-be formed Southeast Texas Hike and Bike Coalition.

The park service would like to see a trail stretch from Kountze to the reserve, Big Thicket National Preserve superintendent Art Hutchinson said.

"The park service thought that it might be a way of allowing people to stop in Kountze, stay at motels, eat in area restaurants, park there and then have a nice leisurely bike (ride) up to the visitor center," Hutchinson said.

"I think it would be a complement to their experience in the Big Thicket and people biking through get to see our beautiful forest."

Hutchinson said cyclists were looking for venues where they didn't have to deal with highway traffic traveling at 70 mph. The ride would be relatively flat, but would be scenic, he said.

Hardin County Judge Billy Caraway wants to see the trail start in Kountze but stretch all the way to Woodville.

"I think _ the two cities together present a better economic package," he said.

The cycling trail could be tied in with canoeing and other activities, he said.

"I want people to see what it was like when this county judge was a kid," Caraway said.

Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Marc Shepherd said discussions concerning a bicycle trail are still very much alive.

He said the agency had met with those interested in a bike trail and listened to their suggestions.

"TxDOT needs to first determine if a bike trail is a good idea in the sense that it is what is best for not only the area, but the corridor," he said. "If one is to be built, we have to determine what kind of structure it would be, where along the corridor it would be located, and the distance of the trail."

Another consideration was how to keep motorized vehicles off the trail.

"Once we determine the answers to that question, we'll be able to have a better idea as to when and where one could be built," he said.

Hutchinson said using the current highway is a fairly inexpensive way of adding a bike trail.

Some of the trails at the Big Thicket are open for bike riding, he said.

The Southeast Texas Hike and Bike Coalition is being formed to lobby for more bicycle trails and for "rail to trail conversions," where abandoned rail corridors are turned into bike trails.

Already some sites in Southeast Texas have been identified.

"This whole area is lacking in bicycle trials," Fogal said. "(The Hardin County proposal) would be excellent news for bicycle riders. There is such a problem with obesity with children and adults both. We need more things to get people out."

An informal group of riders meets Wednesday nights and Saturdays, and attracts anywhere from between 50 and 75 riders, he said.

The cyclists either ride around Beaumont or venture out on a longer route to parts of Hardin County.

Fogal said the proposed Kountze track would be ideal because it was hilly and would provide constant challenges for riders as opposed to a flat ride with city traffic conditions.

A bicycle trail, if done the right way, could also provide people with disabilities a place to exercise, he said. People walking, jogging or rollerblading could also use it.

"If we had something like this bike trail that would certainly be another destination that people could travel to see our unique wild life," he said. "There is a natural synergy between the cyclists and people that like to get out and look at bird life."

Fogal said some people did not like riding on roads in the city.

"We suspect there is a lot of people like that," he said. "If they had a place to ride they would get up from in front of the TV and get on their bicycle. It's one of those things, if you build it they will come."