A Liberty City youth leader plans to lead children through the neighborhood's safest routes on his bike.

Roger Horne, 37, program developer for the Belafonte Tacolcy Center in Liberty City, will head an after-school bike club where children will be taught how to build and maintain bicycles while building character. The center is a private nonprofit for youth services.

The Tacolcy Bike & Safety Club is an outgrowth of the city of Miami's Bike Miami Days, an initiative started last November in which the city closes some streets to allow cycling without cars. The club is expected to start in the next few weeks.

``This is a way to bridge the cradle-to-prison pipeline,'' Horne said.

Mayor Manny Diaz wanted to find a way to get the volunteers and pro-cycling groups in the city to work together and do something for the inner-city community. Horne volunteered in the Bike Miami Days program.

``We have a lot of children in our community who ride bikes, and I love bikes, so since we are looking to improve the health outcomes of our community, anyway; let's do something that they like,'' Horne said.

Because Horne found most kids at Tacolcy wanted a bike, he proposed the program to Diaz. This went along with his plan for Miami to be one of the top cities in America for energy efficiency.

To fund the program, Horne received a $500 grant from the Imagine Miami civic network, part of the Human Services Coalition that helps low-income residents with financial support.

``Normally, if you look at the city of Miami communities at risk . . . they usually get excluded from activities like Bike Miami Days,'' Horne said.

The program has received 48 bikes donated from residents, the Miami police department and used bike parts from shops like Scoot Skate and Bike in Miami. Because the children will build their own bicycles, Horne hopes that will make them less prone to falling into trouble. Horne also will hold monthly rides.

``I'm looking for something in these kids to click that says, `I don't have to be out there in the street hustling or selling drugs,' '' Horne said. ``I came here when I was 9 years old from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I hated reading and school, but someone showed an interest in me.''

Richard Page, bicycle mechanic at Team Iguana Sports in Miami Beach, will be the program's resident mechanic. He will set up informal workshops on maintenance techniques like fixing flat tires, changing old wheels and chains.

``As a child, a bicycle is a newfound freedom,'' said Page, whose background is in bicycle manufacturing.

Though the program does not have a set start date, Collin Worth, bicycle coordinator for the city of Miami, expects it to start this month.

Even though most of the bicycles donated were adult-sized, Horne is working on retrofitting them for children.

``Our children are our biggest resource, and if you don't nurture them when they are young, their potential will go away,'' Horne said.

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