Chicago Critical Mass: Time, Route, History and Rules of the Ride

On the last Friday of every month, riders gather by the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza and ride out into the Loop with no leader and no fixed route. Hundreds come in summer and often only a handful in winter¹. It is one of the standing entries in Chicago’s events calendar.

When and where

Critical Mass starts in Daley Plaza at 6 p.m. on the last Friday of every month¹. The actual departure is often closer to 6:30 p.m.¹. The plaza is at 50 W. Washington St.². Riders circle the block until everyone is on the road, then the ride leaves and does not return to its starting point¹.

Routes are usually posted on Facebook by the morning of the ride, though they are loosely followed¹. If the route is posted, you may be able to join in progress, but there is no location tracking and timing is difficult¹.

Bike buses to the start

Two informal bike buses collect riders on their way downtown¹. The Lincoln Park group meets at the Eagle Column in Jonquil Park and leaves at 5:30 p.m.¹. The Pilsen group meets at the northwest corner of Harrison Park at Damen and 18th and leaves at 5:30 p.m.¹. If no one has gathered at the start by departure time, you may be riding alone¹.

How the ride works

The ride maintains that it has no organizer: its congregation is coincidental, with riders traveling in the same direction on their own¹. The route is never set in advance. If more than one person arrives at the Picasso sculpture with a proposal, the crowd often votes². Nobody has to finish. Riders peel away on long routes¹.

The ride keeps its habits and its manners:

• Riders call “Happy Friday” to drivers¹.
• “Mass Up” tells those ahead to slow down so the group stays together¹.
• The ride pulls to the sides for ambulances and fire trucks with lights and sirens¹.
• Riders point out potholes to those behind¹.
• Tunnels and viaducts bring whoops and bike bells¹.
• October’s ride often brings costumes¹.
• Warm-weather routes often end at a park bonfire or the beach¹.

Veteran riders have written down two courtesies that cut delays for everyone else. The front of the ride stops at every red light, which lets cross traffic with the green go and gives the group a chance to mass up⁴. Routes that turn about every half mile also avoid long delays on one street⁴.

History

Chicago’s monthly rides launched in September 1997, with the first on September 5 of that year². Michael Burton and Jim Redd hatched the idea of monthly rides from the plaza². The first ride that took the name Critical Mass happened on September 25, 1992 in San Francisco⁶.

The ride likes a joke about its age. Burton claimed the 20th anniversary ride in 2017 was the 30th, and in 2022 he billed the ride as a 50th anniversary, though it was really the 25th². John Greenfield wrote in Streetsblog Chicago in 2022 that the ride helped launch countless careers in bike advocacy and planning, including his own². By 2024 he counted 27 years of riding it⁴. An archive of Chicago Critical Mass route flyers is kept by Bedno.com⁷.

Bike Grid Now, a separate advocacy group, says it draws on Critical Mass’s direct-action ideals and route planning but has different leadership, goals and opinions¹.

Southside Critical Mass

The Southside Critical Mass meets every first Friday at 5:45 p.m. at the plaza of Nichols Park, 55th and Kimbark, and rolls at about 6:15³. It normally covers 15 to 20 miles at 10-14 mph, and it does not ride from December through March³. The ride is free³. The organizers advise riders to bring a helmet, water, a lock, lights and a jacket³.

Rules that apply to every rider

The ride is a crowd, but each person on it is still a person riding a bicycle on a street. Illinois law puts it plainly:

Every person riding a bicycle upon a highway shall be granted all of the rights, including, but not limited to, rights under Article IX of this Chapter, and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle⁸.

Chicago’s municipal code requires cyclists to ride single file, except when riding two abreast does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic⁹. Illinois law directs a bicyclist moving slower than traffic to ride as close as practicable and safe to the right edge of the roadway, with exceptions when reasonably necessary to avoid hazards¹⁰. Read the Chicago bike laws guide for the full set.

Safety and tension with drivers

Most Chicagoans know the ride and do not get upset about a few minutes of delay⁴. It has not always gone smoothly. In May and June 2024, enraged drivers started violent incidents on the Near North Side and in Uptown, and in one of them an occupant of a car fired shots into the air⁴. The ride’s usual courtesies, such as stopping at red lights and turning every half mile or so, are meant to keep it from overly inconveniencing other road users⁴. Stay with the group and keep clear of confrontations.

Renting a bike for the ride

Bobby’s Bike Hike offers overnight rentals for Critical Mass with a helmet and lock⁵. A hybrid or comfort bike is $19.99⁵. Pickup is Friday between 3 and 5 p.m., and return is Saturday between 9 and 10 a.m.⁵. See the downtown rental guide for other options, and the group rides guide for rides that run all week.