At six-o-clock on a cold evening on the last Friday in November, more than 200 men, women and children met with their bikes outside Curve. Moustaches were everywhere, in support of ‘Movember’. Less than an hour later, they ended up at The Font pub on Gateway Street, after pedalling for just four miles around the streets of Leicester. All types of bikes, all types of people, just one expression: a smile. This is Leicester’s ‘critical mass of users’. – the two-wheeled charm offensive.

It all started in autumn 2010. A group of club cyclists were riding across town when one of them said that riding in a group was like being in a mini critical mass. And this despite the fact that none of them had ever taken part in a critical mass ride – it just felt safer and empowering to be riding en masse in town. It also acted as an antidote to the anti-cyclist stories that seemed to be everywhere: get off the road, get off the pavement, don’t sit in front of me at the lights or I will crush you beneath my wheels. Maybe a critical mass in Leicester would make other people feel good as well?

A first meeting was set up, and the arguments about why a critical mass would be a good or bad idea were thrown about. From the very beginning, we were clear that social media would be an essential part of the mix, and so Twitter ensured that Citizen’s Eye knew the outcome before the last pints were finished. A few days later, from a laptop in the Orange Tree, the first event was announced on Facebook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyGv7KEVUq0

Nobody present at those meetings knew what to expect. Would we even get 30 riders to turn up, perhaps? And if we did, would anyone want to do it again? The arguments that had started in the pub about what we were trying to achieve hadn’t gone away. Some had wanted the event to be a political one, so that it could be used as a campaigning tool. Others wanted it to be more of a celebration of cycling. In short it would be fair to admit that we really had no idea what to expect or what we would get.

What we got went way beyond our expectations. What we got was testament to how cycling can bring together people who on the face of things have little in common beyond their love for getting around on two wheels.

That first time we met, 90 people converged outside Curve. Leicester’s first Critical Mass had a Halloween theme, starting a ‘themed ride’ style that has continued throughout. It’s true that under the face paint, ghoul masks and fright wigs, most of the riders were familiar faces. But they were familiar from different scenes – artists, photographers and people associated with various cycling groups and clubs.

Our destination for that first Mass was the Criterion, which soon became packed with zombies, werewolves and devils. After the first few rides we reached a point where they could no longer accommodate us. And so it was clear right from the start that LCM was as much about socialising and networking as it was about the ride.

Before long, we started to attract families with young children – something which made us a little nervous at first, but which now has become integral. On one ride we even had a Dalmatian running alongside us down the London Road. Photographers started to multiply on the rides, all wanting to record the visual spectacle that LCM had become – which in turn prompted people to even greater sartorial efforts. Photographers, in particular are drawn to the rides. Both professional and amateur XXX turn out to record the spectacle, riding ahead to find the best spots to catch us in action - if you can call a 5 mph bike ride that. Iain Jaques of PhotoFinale (our 'official' photographer) has been photographing Leicester's cycling culture for 5 years - he estimates his Flickr pages get about 200 people looking through the images following posting a Critical Mass set. He says "I feel part of a huge community in Leicester - everyone comes together for these amazing rides and photographing this wonderful spectacle is my contribution to that community and the wider culture of Leicester".

One question that’s always asked of us by bemused motorists and perplexed pedestrians is ‘what’s it all about’? Initial sceptic, Andy Salkeld, Leicester City Council’s Cycling Co-ordinator perhaps summed it up best by suggesting that LCM says most by not saying anything at all. It took a while for this to really make sense. But avoiding confronting or espousing any one issue prevents splits from developing. People are free to promote any cycling-related or cultural event or cause in the city and beyond through the Mass, but the Mass itself is ‘not saying anything’.

Our T-shirts are made by Knighton Lane Artists’ group and designed by local freelance graphic artist Louise Dawson aka Moonpie Designs who also designs our posters. “Working for LCM has opened many doors for me. Through people I’ve met on the masses I’ve enjoyed working with Cyclemagic, the Ride Leicester festival and Cycles and Suffragettes.”

Cycles and suffragettes, a day of led rides, local social history, flash-mobs and period costume fun was the brain child of four women who met at Leicester Critical Mass and again put Leicester cycling in the national press.

Local film makers have played their part in promoting LCM, too. Sally Hossack, Victor Gonzales and Large Scale have all filmed the spectacle and given us their work for free – Large Scale actually shot, edited and produced a short film to be shown on the same evening of one of our rides on the big screen at Phoenix Square during the Leicester Bike Film Festival.

People who don’t ride bikes have got involved, too, such as Dance Fit Studio’s zombie dancers and Alternative Bar Crawl who enjoyed hosting over one hundred hungry and thirsty riders after the Royal Wedding themed ride in May this year.

Critical Massers have got involved with other stuff going on as a result of meeting people on the rides– joining photography groups, applying to be comedy judges, organising family bike rides, setting up Cycles and Suffragettes. Women are getting involved in Leicester Forest Cycling Club as a result of meeting on LCM and organising more sporting rides for relative beginners.

The social event after the rides has seen people mingle with folks as diverse as Leicester has to offer – kids, people in their 80s, green activists and club cyclists share ideas and pose for photos with men in pink tutus and women with huge stick on moustaches. Korin Grant's 6 year-old daughter is a becoming a regular on the last friday of the month. "We have loved seeing her feeling so proud of herself for getting up the flyover under her own steam. We've cycled in parts of Leicester we don't see that often by bike. It's a great way to have a safe but exciting adventure on a Friday night". We’ve finished at pubs, city centre cafes and Phoenix Square – we did try and finish with a picnic one month but the weather conspired against us.

So how have the rides themselves developed? In February, a Brazilian Massa Critica was thrown into chaos and near tragedy as an impatient driver drove deliberately into the cyclists. Bodies and bikes were scattered across the streets, but miraculously nobody was killed. In the following days, LCM’s Facebook page was flooded with links to the YouTube videos; questions about whether we should continue; and demands for us to ‘do something’.

Leicester Fiesta was the response. We were determined to maintain our celebratory spirit and this led to a Brazilian theme for the March ride. Local Samba band Sambando surprised everyone by turning up outside Curve. Their infectious rhythms were loud enough to be heard from as far away Town Hall Square. This ride was to be our first collaboration - the ‘aftermass’ had a new home in the Crumblin’ Cookie, where local start-up Brazilian caterers Vila Brasil set up home in the kitchen, and the food queues snaked out onto High Street. Sambando had again set up in the High Street and achieved the near-impossible: getting Leicester’s shoppers and onlookers dancing in the street.

The routes used by the Masses have varied as well, as we try to make sure that all of Leicester gets to experience the sight of 200 assorted bikes and even more assorted riders. Not to mention the sound of the bicycle bell chorus, the hooters, whistles and drums that accompany it: lately we’ve even been joined by the Font’s mobile sound system. The Font has also provided a new home for the ‘aftermass’ – offering discounted beer and good food and welcoming us all into their rather smart pub…

Over a year on then, and the Mass is still going strong – it’s the second biggest in Britain by some distance and has featured in the national cycling press and on The Guardian’s bike blog more than once. Each ride is different, but the core of each one is the same – to celebrate cycling, to have fun and to raise the profile of cycling and cyclists in Leicester. They’re open to anyone with a bike and are never aggressive: it’s difficult for motorists to develop road rage when faced with a one-eyed zombie or a cycling Santa Claus.

So, will our Critical Mass start a cycling chain reaction? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing’s for sure: it’s the biggest and brightest thing happening in Leicester on the last Friday of every month!