Amateur cyclists make the grade

What began in the 1950s as an idea about a book of facts to aid in settling casual arguments in pubs or tongs, over time the Guinness World Records (GWR), formerly known as the Guinness Book of World Records, became a global brand that showcases the ever-expanding limit of human capabilities. Although GWR verifies and documents all kinds of incredible records from the sporting sphere, others are often amusing. Take for example the most hugs in a minute (87) by Satoru Shibata of Japan or the most paper planes caught by mouth in a minute (17) by Ashrita Furman of the USA. However, each title demands a strict set of criteria that an aspiring record-holder must fulfil before preparing and executing to break an established record or to introduce a brand new one. In any case, the attempted record has to be universal in nature, i.e. not being country specific, from being verifiable through extensive review process to being breakable, i.e being open to challenge. With GWR continuing to positively impact lives all over the world,

The Daily Star's Mostafa Shabuj and Ashfaq Ul Mushfiq spoke to five Bangladeshis who made their mark in recent times. 

Bangladeshi cyclists Drabir Alam, Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Alauddin and Rakibul Islam, better known as Team BDC, claimed the Guinness World Record greatest distance cycled in 48 hours by a relay team by cycling 1670.334 km last month.

The event was held in sub-par conditions in the aftermath of cyclone Jawad in Dhaka's Purbachal area from December 8-10 in collaboration with Dabur Bangladesh.

Drabir, one of the four cyclists said: "We were preparing for this event for the past year-and-a-half. When we applied for the record, the Guinness authorities gave us very strict instructions. But the problem was finding a safe road where we could cycle for 48 hours."

"We selected a block in Purbachal (length more than 1,000 meters) and arranged food and accommodation for the 150 people who were involved in the event."

Rakib expanded on the technicalities: "We had to take video footage of the entire 48 hours from six cameras. We had certificates signed by thirteen witnesses, a surveyor's report, numerous photos, GPS data and more and sent it to the Guinness authorities which they scrutinised for a month before finalising the record."