More than 1,200 cyclists lined up in Hubballi, a city in southern India, on Tuesday to claim a truly staggering milestone: breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest single-file group bike ride.

The feat, organized by the Hubballi Bicycle Club, coincided with India’s 70th Republic Day, a holiday celebrating the anniversary of the Indian Constitution. Riders from all over the country gathered in the city to participate.

After six months of planning, 1,235 cyclists managed to form a single-file parade to seize the world record, although about 1,500 had originally intended to join, according to the Indian newspaper The Hindu. Unable to maintain pace and distance on its first attempt, the group was forced to drop some riders and try again, finding success the second time around.

In total, the ride spanned 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) in a single, unbroken line, running from Oxford College on the city’s eastern outskirts to the nearby village of Kusugal. A Guinness World Records official was on site to declare the effort successful.

The previous record, set in December 2016, had also been coordinated by a South Asian cycling club. BDCyclists, based in Bangladesh, managed to organize 1,186 cyclists at the time to ride in a contiguous line in Dhaka, that country’s capital.

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But this wasn’t just a case of one-upmanship. The Hubballi Bicycle Club told reporters that the ride was meant to celebrate cycling culture in India while also raising awareness about bicycling’s health benefits and environmental friendliness.

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Daisy Hernandez Daisy writes for Runner's World, Bicycling, and Popular Mechanics.

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