MIDLAND, Texas — Jason Haislip takes great pride in his bike shelves.
He's a Midland native and the owner of Peyton's Bikes. One thing, Haislip can't recall in his time living here is a bike trail for the sport he loves.
"I was born here and we haven’t had anything local like this in my 42 years," Haislip said. "The closest thing we had was a trail out where we had to drive over an hour to get out there to ride a mountain bike. So it’s not something you can do everyday."
Until now, Haislip won't have to go far to find a trail thanks to the work of this group. Haislip is the Vice President for the Permian Basin Bike Association. Their one of the groups who brought this Midland Trail Park to riders in Midland last year.
"This is great for cyclists in the area," Haislip said. "I’ve been a cyclists for as long as i can remember but it offers an alternative. It offers an alternative mountain bike park because we’ve had one in Odessa for a very long time but if all you got is one it turns to be the same old thing after a while."
So the work continues on this park in hopes to add more features and obstacles. Nearly eight miles on 120 acres.
"We provide insurance for the trail and we take possession going forward," Haislip said. "And oversea anything that happens, any new developments."
Riders like these are taking advantage of what's being offered.
"It gives you somewhere else to ride that’s safe and off the road and you can still get a good workout," Haislip said. "Now we have a trail that's for most people no more than a 10 min. commute. You can head over get your workout done and didn’t waste a whole day driving."
For Haislip it's a new challenge and something that takes him beyond the walls of his store, sharing a love for a sport that seems to be catching on.
Riders have to pay $30/ or $35 for family to join the PBBA.
This Saturday, the PBBA and West Texas Alliance will be having the grand opening for the Midland Trail Park from 10am-2pm.