I love New York and visit the city often — but rarely on my bicycle. My last trip to the city by bike was with John Marino, founder of the Race Across America, as he finished a cross-country bike ride. Coming out of the Holland Tunnel, which was cleared of traffic, I narrowly escaped injury when a cab ran me off the road.

I recall the 1980 New York Transit strike when residents took to bikes in great numbers. I went to the city with my bike to do some media appearances, but couldn't take the bike inside their office buildings.

I frequently appear on the TV morning shows originating in New York. It is understood by everyone in the studio that the advice I give doesn't apply to the city, which is a special kind of cycling island, dangerous, unhealthy, and beyond solution. That is one reason Bicycling has rated New York City one of the worst in the nation, though we upgraded that judgment slightly in 1992 because of the good work done by Transportation Alternatives.

But suddenly, I'm unsure that New York is beyond redemption. I've just read the text of The Bicycle Blueprint: A Plan to Bring Bicycling Into the Mainstream in New York City.

This book is a refreshingly spirited and original look at how the bicycle could become a real alternative for the city.

Hours before reading this lively document I attended a ceremony at which Bob Rodale, late chairman of Rodale Press, received an award for his contributions to publishing and humanity. An avid cyclist, and founder of Bicycling, I thought about how he'd view the inhospitable streets outside the Waldorf. An optimist, his operative phrase was: "you can," meaning we all have the capacity to change our world. He would embrace this plan for the same reason he started a magazine for private farmers in Russia : the task was daunting, but necessary.

Bob also believed we can regenerate our bodies, our land, and our cities. He would be at home with the H.G. Wells quote: "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race."

When I read the Blueprint, I was filled with hope and moved by the authors' vision, their aesthetics. Don't get me wrong. This work is a specific action plan to make the city livable again. In fact, it's one of the best blueprints I've read in the last decade — no bureaucratic talk here. Equally important, the authors push beyond the traditional bike lane solution and call for, in the poet Auden's words, "new styles of architecture, a change of heart."

This is a book about how New York can better serve its citizens. The authors remind us that their city is late to the task. After all, Amsterdam, Turin, Cologne and other European cities are giving the streets back to pedestrians and cyclists. The car will no longer have free run. "Traffic calming" is the watchword. Cities are being returned to their original purpose: to foster health, life, and creativity.

A central theme of the Blueprint is: take cycling seriously. The book is a plea as much as a document. Let's implement an inexpensive plan to make the bicycle a full partner in the transportation mix. Let's make fundamental changes in transport policy before it's too late.

This proposal should be read by all concerned government officials in New York, starting with Mayor Dinkins. I challenge the Mayor to publicly endorse the Blueprint. I also challenge the private sector to embrace the examples of Sterling-Winthrop, Saatchi & Saatchi, J.P. Morgan and other corporations that have made the bicycle welcome.

In my opinion, there's a direct relationship between the quality of cycling and the quality of life. Some of our most livable cities — Seattle, Eugene, Madison, and Palo Alto — are also the best cycling cities.

The bicycle can be an instrument of change. The bicycle can save New York.