I started working as a bicycle mechanic at age 14, a year after my bicycle racing career started. I spent 20 years racing bicycles at an elite level and I've owned my own bicycle shop for 20 years. I've ridden and raced road bikes, track bikes, tandems, BMX bikes and even unicycles. Nowadays ultra-events are a hobby and I've ridden a bicycle 600 miles in a weekend, through all sorts of weather and darkness.

I could write a book (and a fairly thick one) on many aspects of cycling, but I never really felt the need to communicate any knowledge until recently-a few weeks ago my wife and I had our first child, and as anyone who is a parent knows, that changes everything-including the way I look at other children. Where once I saw messy, loud little people now I see precious bundles of joy that I feel the need to protect. I know, it's disgusting.

Whenever I ride my bike through my neighborhood on the way home from a bike ride, or whenever I push my daughter through the local park I see literally scores of children who are just begging to get seriously hurt on a bicycle, and it's a shame because it is so easily prevented. I know your time is important so I'm going to cut to the chase and tell you the three things you can do to make sure your child is safer on his or her bicycle. Afterwards, if you're still with me you can read on, perhaps enduring one of my infamous rants.

First, helmet safety. You probably already know your child should wear a helmet and she probably already has one and even puts it on before a bike ride. What it has come to my attention that you probably aren't aware of is how the thing should fit and how it should sit on her head. Overwhelmingly, the single biggest mistake I see is children whose helmets are not sitting properly on their heads. The helmet should be essentially level or parallel to the ground, not tilted back at a rakish angle. If your childs forehead is exposed that is a bad thing. Moreover the helmet should not be easily slid back and forth over the head. It's important that the straps fit the helmet fairly snugly on the head. Your child should be able to open his mouth to eat or scream, but that chin strap should be fairly snug. There's one little girl in particular who goes racing down the local hill by my house with her helmet tilted back like a Japanese college student on a scooter (over there it's required fashion to wear your helmet as far off your head as possible, in protest to helmet laws. Don't ask me to explain it because I don't understand it). I'm tempted every time I see her to explain the facts of helmet safety to her but fear of being arrested for being a stalker or pervert prevents me from doing so. One last bit of helmet safety: they only work once, so make sure if your child suffers an accident, or if you suspect that anything might have compressed the expanded polystyrene shell (you know, that stuff that looks like an ice cooler) you replace the helmet.

A disturbing trend that I've noticed in kid's bicycles is the recent popularity of the so-called freestyle bike. Lately I see lots of little kids riding bikes with axle pegs-large tubular devices sticking far out of either side of the front and rear hub. Parents, I implore you, if your child must ride this style of bike (and I really wish he wouldn't) TAKE THESE THINGS OFF!!! Unless your kid is in the X-Games shralpin' on a half-pipe all these things are is potential lethal weapons in the event of an accident. Again I say REMOVE AXLE PEGS!!!!!

The third thing that you can do to improve your childs safety is related to number 2 above. It's something that is easy to check for and remedy, but you must do it regularly. Look at the end of your childs handlebars. Do you see exposed handlebar? If you do be sure to install a new hand grip or bar-end plug as soon as possible. That exposed handlebar can act like a cookie-cutter or apple-corer in the event of an accident (just imagine what an axle peg can do). Every bicycle racer gets this checked during tech inspection and will not be allowed to start if his handlebar end is exposed. Believe me, this is not in the realm of the theoretical. Every year children die from this, and I have seen it happen. A local restaurant worker lost his son this way. The child fell on his bicycle the handlebar twisted, as it so often does, and the exposed end of the handlebar impaled him. It was such a senseless accident, and so easily prevented, but how often do you think to check the end of your kids handlebar? Unless you're a cyclist, almost certainly the answer is never. But kids (especially little boys) toss their bikes around and when the handlebar lands on the ground a few times it tends to poke through the grip. Make sure your childs handlebar end is plugged up.

Well, that's it. My top three things to check for to help ensure your childs safety while cycling. As I said there are a dozens of things I could add, but in the interest of brevity I will only add one. A fellow PSU alumni was in a terrible bicycle accident a few years ago. He was riding his mountain bike in the city in a perfectly safe manner. He slowed down for a redlight and while traveling at no greater than 3 m.p.h. he suffered an accident that tragically left him a quadraplegic. What happened? First, his bike had a stem (that part that connects the handlebar to the frame) that featured a brass roller for the front brake cable. This was a really popular design for a number of years and many many thousands of bikes have such a stem. Unfortunately, it tended to create a stress on the brake cable which eventually leads to brake cable failure. When the cable failed the brakes opened up, as they do and the straddle cable (that cable that connects both sides of a cantilver brake) was pulled down onto the tire. Because the tire had a knobby tread the cable caught between the knobs and the the rider flew over the bars as his bike did a low-speed stoppie. Believe it or not, this type of accident happens not infrequently. How could it have been prevented? The easiest way would have been to make sure that a reflector bracket was fitted in the fork between the tire and the straddle cable. Such a precaution would certainly have been made had the bike been recently serviced at any competent bike shop. The lesson? Find a competent bike shop. You can't be troubled with staring at your or your child's bicycle and envisioning scenarios straight out of "Final Destination". But for a good bicycle mechanic it is second nature. Also, believe me when I say you are doing yourself and your child no favor by purchasing a bike from a department store. SOME bikes from Wal-Mart have, I admit, come a long way in recent years (although some cannot reasonably even be called bicycles, although they look to the untrained eye as such) but the people assembling them have not, and bicycle from independant bicycle dealers are MUCH better and safer than any department store bike. A bike-shop quality bike does not have to cost a fortune but the service you receive can make all the difference not only in safety but in your childs enjoyment and potentially on whether or not he or she embraces a healthful, lifelong activity. I'll be the first to tell you though that not all bike shops are staffed with friendly, competent people. It's just like any other business. But I urge you to find a bike shop with a good reputation and with whom you feel comfortable. It can make all the difference and in the long run you will receive much greater value.

If you've made it this far in my review I thank you, and if I can prevent just one needless accident I'll be ecstatic. Good luck, and good cyclng!