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Each year, Solana Beach, California, home to ElliptiGO Headquarters, is the beautiful backdrop for ElliptiGO’s Rally and World Championship Weekend. Among the highlights of this year’s events and activities, held October 12-14, 2024, were the recognition of our Rider of the Year and the Inaugural John Pilkington Spirit Award winner. These awards were bestowed during the annual Awards Ceremony and Dinner, hosted by the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club (GERC).

The John Pilkington Spirit Award was created by ElliptiGO this year to honor a beloved member of our community. John Pilkington, known as JP, was among the original members of the ElliptiGO community. He was one of our very first customers, and over the years, his passion for ElliptiGO riding — and his stable of bikes — increased. He passed away from ALS on December 15, 2023. The John Pilkington Spirit Award is given to the rider who embodies JP’s fun, kind and welcoming attitude. The recipient isn’t necessarily a high-mileage or record-breaking rider; it’s a person who is dedicated to the ElliptiGO community, embraces the lifestyle of riding the GO, proactively spreads the ElliptiGO word, and demonstrates the spirit of friendship that JP embodied by encouraging people to ride and participate in events. 

The inaugural recipient of the John Pilkington Spirit Award is Ron Critchley. He was selected for his contributions to and support of the ElliptiGO community in 2024. Service Manager Keri Cleeremans says, “Ron participates in all local events and is very encouraging to his fellow riders. On Facebook he contributes to educating riders and members about various features of the GO. He also offers support to newcomers who have many questions. He is very positive and really helps his team during GERC’s September GOGO team challenge.” 

The presentation of the John Pilkington Spirit Award was an emotional event, with JP’s wife, Anita, sister Donna, brother-in-law Scott, and close family friend Joanna in attendance. Alongside a framed award and commemorative mug, Ron received JP’s beloved GOGO (Get Out and GO) bag, allowing him to carry a piece of JP’s legacy wherever he travels. Anita shared a collection of JP’s treasured ElliptiGO jerseys, including those from the Arthritis Foundation® California Coast Classic Bike Tour—an event JP completed multiple times. ElliptiGO riders eagerly took these jerseys, committing to wearing them on future rides as a tribute to JP’s enduring impact. 

With characteristic humility, Ron accepted the award, saying, “I feel totally undeserving. What a great honor. I never met JP, but I have heard so many good things about him.” Congratulations, Ron, on this well-deserved award!

For her many accomplishments throughout the year, the title of ElliptiGO Rider of the Year was awarded to Teresa Fukumoto-Beebe. Among her impressive feats throughout 2024 was winning the women’s race up Palomar Mountain for the second year in a row. She is only the second woman, after Sarah Brown, to win back-to-back World Championships. Teresa completed this year’s climb in 1:51:41.

Although Teresa was pleased that this year she beat her 2023 time, this driven athlete admits that she was hoping to put up a better time than she did. “I just wasn’t feeling great as I started to make the climb, and I thought it felt harder than it should have been given all my training,” she explains. “I know I’m very hard on myself, but I believe I have yet to truly show my talent on Palomar, so I will keep making changes in hopes to improve.” We look forward to her 2025 climb!

Winning Rider of the Year in addition to winning the race up Palomar was overwhelming, says Teresa. “I feel so honored to be recognized by such an amazing community!” she shares. “I was quite emotional when I accepted the award. I felt so much loss when I couldn’t pursue running anymore, but to come full circle and to now be part of the incredible ElliptiGO community is quite extraordinary. I am thrilled I was selected as the 2024 Rider of the Year and I couldn’t be more grateful!”

Teresa was also ElliptiGO’s Rider of the Month in November 2023, and her accomplishments since winning that recognition are impressive. She completed her first double century (200-mile ride), the Davis Double Century, in May 2024 with an elapsed time of 15:46:36 and a moving time of 14:37:02. She also beat her previous distance in the one-hour time trial, completing 18.5 miles in under one hour. Additionally, Teresa completed her first 12-hour ride, the 12 Hours of Sun City Cycling Challenge. This ride begins at 8 p.m. and ends at 8 a.m. to help mitigate Arizona’s summer heat. “I’m a morning person, so I was unsure how riding through the night would be,” she says. She covered just under 165 miles.

Although her riding accomplishments are impressive, much of what stands out to Teresa from this year are the connections she’s made with her fellow ElliptiGO riders. “Training can get lonely when you ride solo all the time, so to get together with others who share the same love for ElliptiGO is really exciting!” she says. “I feel so connected to many members in the community, but usually that’s through the virtual world. It’s so nice to actually get together in the same city and truly get to know people face-to-face.”

In addition to the fun of connecting with friends at World Championships and Rally weekend, this year Teresa traveled to Hawaii and borrowed a GO from Cary Craig. “It’s pretty great when you can travel across the ocean and a complete stranger is willing to let you borrow their GO,” says Teresa. 

In August, she met up with her ElliptiGO buddies Doug Hanna and Britt Brewer for a weekend of riding and socializing in Sedona, Arizona. Teresa notes, “Those two gentlemen have been instrumental in encouraging me and inspiring me to GO after future goals in my athletic career!”

Teresa certainly plans to keep GOing. In 2025, she hopes to improve her Palomar time and break her own ElliptiGO world-record century time. She shares, “My good friend, Britt Brewer, always tells me, ‘The world is your oyster and it’s up to you to create your own adventure.’ And he’s exactly right! Being the 2024 Rider of the Year is part of my adventure … and I look forward to the many experiences to come as I continue on my adventure.”

We do too, Teresa. Congratulations on being the 2024 Rider of the Year!