Critical mass is a bike ride that happens every last Friday of the month, in Manchester and cities all over the world. We have a friend, called Andy, who has been attending these for a while and keeps asking us to go. Well this Friday I had cycled to work and so it was a good opportunity for me to join him.  They start to meet outside Central Library at about 6:30.

It is quite a social gathering. Some have bike with trailers on which they have some quite powerful sound systems.

Although there is no designated leader, we set off around 18:50 or there about.

The ride goes at a slow pace and winds through the streets of Manchester.  Everyone stays together. The ride causes quite a lot of attention from the people as we passed.

Most people are quite supportive. Some people clap and cheer, others took pictures. Not everyone was impressed though – including some of the traffic although other drivers were very patient.

We snaked our way around the centre of Manchester.

We passed through Piccadilly before making our way towards the Northern Quarter.

The end of ride was need to Coop building.

At the end a vote was taken as to which pub people were going to. Some headed to one and others to a different one. Andy and I, and a few other people decided to head off for home.

W hadn’t covered a large distance but it was certainly an enjoyable time and an experience that I would recommend to other cyclists. Why not give it a try?

The route that we followed is shown below: