Last Friday night I inadvertently attended Edinburgh's growing critical mass. I wasn't on a bike at the time, and had completely forgotten it was taking place. But standing on the outside I saw myself placed perfectly to see the ride as the majority do. And it worries me.

As it was there was plenty time to ponder the nature of the ride, and to take in the responses on people watching the events unfold. When I say unfold, I'm thinking of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon and very deliberately stretching out its wings. Only slower.

Before I go any further I have to say that I think I understand the reasons behind critical mass. Bikes have a rightful place on the road, they are a legitimate means of getting from A to B and then on through the rest of the alphabet. That I get. What I don't understand is how critical mass proves any of this.

The pace of the 50 or so riders was topping out at around 4mph, with the bikes inhabiting the entire carriageway. The worm had turned, and in so doing proved that cars are not the only mode of transport capable of creating gridlock and annoyance.

Maybe I am blighted by courtesy, but I see the use of the roads more as sharing. Ride sensibly, drive sensibly. To my eyes critical mass seemed in that moment to be attempting to prove that two wrongs make a right. It antagonised, annoyed and angered. And rebuking such statements with a belief that they're car drivers and so deserve it, or that we're bikes and so have every right to be there, misses the point by such a distance that if anything I believe it can only make matters worse for cyclists.

Surely the way to show the bike as a viable city transport option is to be visible in your faster passage from start to destination rather than proving you are just as capable of making traffic move slowly.

let us know your thoughts on critical mass at criticalmass@citycycling.co.uk