AN ambulance rushing a critically ill patient to hospital was delayed up to two minutes Friday because of a Critical Mass bicycle protest, police and ambulance officials said yesterday.

Those officials warn that, in the future, protesters will be charged if they don't yield to an ambulance or other emergency vehicle with lights and sirens on.

"Obviously, somebody's life is at risk or we wouldn't have lights and sirens," Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Deputy Chief Ken Sim said.

"Some of the cyclists didn't clear the road in a timely fashion."

Sim said both motorists and cyclists are required by law to pull over to the right when an ambulance, fire truck or police car rushes by.

In this instance the patient made it to St. Boniface General Hospital despite cyclists holding it up on Tache Avenue, Sim said.

Police spokesperson Const. Jacqueline Chaput said motorists or cyclists caught blocking an emergency vehicle can be charged under the provincial Highway Traffic Act.

She said on Friday officers monitoring the demonstration had to intervene to get the few cyclists out of the way.

"We tried to clear the way as quickly as we could," she said.

Chaput said she was unaware if anyone had been charged for riding in front of the ambulance.

Sim added the driver of the ambulance has given a statement to police about the incident.

He also said the problem is partly caused by Critical Mass not having a pre-arranged route filed with police.

He said if a route was known, the ambulance could have avoided the demonstration.

In the past, the Critical Mass demonstrations have been sporadic in leadership and planning with a route not being picked until the last minute. Last Friday, several riders out of about 150 were slapped with traffic tickets for offences like going through red lights.

About 10 police officers riding mountain bikes and others in cruiser cars monitored the event.

The rally was just half the size of one held earlier this month, following heightened media attention to the event after scuffles broke out between police and cyclists during two rallies in May.

Critical Mass is a loosely organized international movement that aims to promote cycling as an alternative to burning up fossil fuels in cars.

In dozens of cities around the world, cyclists gather on the last Friday of every month to ride through downtown streets in what amounts to both a political demonstration and sort of a rave on wheels.