Some say you're not a real cyclist until you've fallen or crashed. While that's a standard I'd rather not have attained (and would happily still be a 'fake' cyclist without the scars), the reality of cycling is you never know when you might hit the deck.
It doesn't matter how skilled a rider you are. Children, adults and even experienced cyclists can - and do - fall off their bikes. That's why it's important to wear a helmet.
It's a message that Wong Kam-po, top Hong Kong cyclist and 2007 scratch race world champion, hopes to spread through a new cycling road safety campaign by the UN children's fund Unicef.
Last month, in his role as Unicef ambassador, Wong stressed the importance of wearing helmets correctly and other road safety skills to 500 children, their relatives and friends in Sha Tin. His message: 'Always wear a helmet when cycling: it could save your life.'
The campaign - part of Unicef's global 2011-2020 Decade of Action for Road Safety - comes as government figures show 2,500 road accidents involved cyclists in Hong Kong last year - up 23 per cent on 2010 and 50 per cent on 2007 levels.
Road accidents last year killed 20 cyclists and injured more than 2,200 others. In the first two months of this year, one cyclist died and 243 cyclists were injured.