Around 25 cyclists met up in Whitworth Park at around 5pm and we had a quick chat about what we wanted to do. Critical Mass is a colourful demonstration of pedal power where cyclists take to the road on mass, blocking the road to cars making it safe to cycle and demonstrating how the city could look without traffic. It makes a point and is totally legal.
We decided to ride into town up Oxford Road at a reasonably slow speed. The traffic was instantly blocked and though some drivers honked the response from motorists was generally not too bad. Pedestrians waved and some cyclists and skaters joined us. We passed along Deansgate and down Princess Street where motorists seemed to get a bit more agitated - perhaps because they were on their way home. We turned off Princess Street onto Whitworth Street and ended up at the Knott Bar in Castlefield for excellent vegan organic beer.
Look out for postings on IndyMedia about the next one, people mentioned doing it on the last Friday of every month. If you want to get more involved with local cycling campaigns in Manchester try the Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign  http://www.gmcc.org.uk/