In many parts of the country, a seven-mile bike trail wouldn't attract much notice. In this region, however, it's apparently the first serious trail outside of mountain-bike trails such as those in Village Creek State Park and Claiborne Park in Vidor. Southeast Texas needs more of these trails, and that won't happen unless more community leaders work for their creation. Public officials should realize that if more trails were built, more riders would use them. In regions that have bike trails, they are often popular. Hike-and-bike trails can go in abandoned railroad tracks or roadbeds. Once set up, they don't require a lot of maintenance. The Kountze trail might be the region's first major hike-and-bike trail, but it shouldn't be the last.