1,235 of them pedal a 4-km stretch in a single line

As the nation celebrated the 70th Republic Day, hundreds of cyclists from across the country landed in Hubballi to pedal 4 km in a single line to set a new Guinness record and make the country proud.

In all, 1,500 cyclists from places such as Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka congregated in Hubballi on Saturday for the attempt. Finally, 1,235 of them made it to the Guinness World Records for “the longest single line bicycles parade”

The earlier record was in the name of Bangladesh, where 1,186 cyclists had pedalled in a single line for 3.2 km in 2016. Hubballi Bicycle Club (HBC), in association with cyclists from across the country and various organisations, had been planning meticulously for the last six months for the attempt and they succeeded on Saturday evening.

Official adjudicator of Guinness World Records Swapnil Dangarikar announced that a new record had been created and handed over the certificate to president of the HBC Shrikant Deshpande and other office-bearers as the cyclists and a large number of people cheered and applauded.

Although the record attempt began in the afternoon with 1,500 cyclists above the age of 15, the first attempt failed as the requisite distance between cyclists and speed was not maintained. Subsequently, several cyclists were dropped and the record attempt began with 1,235 cyclists, who then pedalled to glory by cycling the 4-km stretch between Oxford College on the outskirts of Hubballi to Kusugal on National Highway 218.

The record attempt was part of the Cyclotsava organised to mark the Republic Day with the message ‘Respect cyclists’. It was also aimed at creating awareness on the benefits of cycling on personal health and in reducing carbon footprint.