| ~150 km on the clock | 4:30 AM wheels up |
| 1st 150 km for many riders | 4 boss levels faced |
Alarm at 3. Wheels rolling at 4:30. While Gurugram hit snooze, our peloton was blinking out of Road Riders in Sector 49, bottles full and legs fresh. The mission sounded simple: ride to the Shri Parshvanath Digamber Jain Mandir in Tijara, eat like champions, ride home.
Simple? Tijara had other plans. It threw four boss levels at us. Spoiler: the crew took them on, one by one.
Pre-dawn line-up. Coffee eyes, game faces.
Boss level 1The road that fought back
Potholes, gravel, stretches still under construction: it was less of a road and more of an obstacle course. On skinny road-bike tyres, every kilometre was a skills test. Pick your line, stay loose, trust the wheel in front. Bike handling? Levelled up.
Pit stop, pro style. Thirty seconds of rest, then back in the saddle.
Boss level 2The final-kilometre walk-in
Tijara saved its plot twist for the end: a market lane so packed that riding was off the table. So we did what endurance athletes do and adapted. Bikes in hand, cleats clacking, we weaved through scooters, shoppers and chai stalls all the way to the temple gates. Call it a bonus cross-training session.
The lane. Zero riding room, full points for style.
Walking it in, grinning all the way.
Turnaround point unlocked: Shri Parshvanath Digamber Jain Mandir, Tijara.
Boss level 3Hunt for breakfast
Finding a table for a hungry peloton turned into a side quest. The reward was hiding in plain sight: piping-hot kachoris from the street stalls. Local, legendary, and honestly better than anything on the plan. Carb-loading, Tijara style.
The kachori. Officially the MVP of the morning.
Refuelled. Thumbs up. Ready to roll.
Boss level 4The sun turned up to max
The ride home was a showdown with the sun. Every water stop became a shower stop, with bottles emptied over helmets and onto backs, and then straight back on the pedals. The road was a little kinder by now; the heat was not. Legs burned. A few riders made the smart call and hopped into the support vehicle to live to ride another day; the rest dug deep and pedalled it home.
Easy rides make nice photos. Tough rides make athletes.
And then, the loot drop: a royal feast at Old Rao Dhaba that had the whole crew cheering, followed by ice-cold sugarcane juice on the road. By the time we rolled into Kherki Daula, the potholes and the heat had turned into stories, and the stories into bragging rights.
Final scoreEndurance test: passed
For many riders, this was their first-ever 150 km. And not a gentle one: broken roads, a crowded market and a sun on full power. That's not just a distance ticked off. That's grit, patience and the art of keeping going when the plan goes sideways. Exactly what endurance sport is about.
We're taking notes too: next time we'll recce the route before the group rides it. But days like this one show what you're made of, and on Friday every rider who clipped in at 4:30 AM showed what they're made of, whether they rode every kilometre or knew when to take a breather.
The Tijara squad. One crew, one very long day.
Team shout-outs
Huge thanks to KV and AK and their teams for riding with us and making the day a success, to Road Riders for the on-ride support all day, and to Folks on Forks for bringing the ride together. Breakfast and lunch were proudly sponsored by Feet and Pedals.
Got the bug? Next challenge loading…
Feet and Pedals is India's home for endurance events: find and book runs, rides, treks and triathlons near you, or host your own club event. Tag us in your Tijara photos!
