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Our annual Rally and World Championship Weekend wrapped up here in our hometown of Solana Beach, CA this past weekend, and we’re still reeling from all the memories made! One of those special moments is the announcement of our Authentic & Inspiring Award winners. This special honor is given to riders who have shown themselves to be truly genuine in their love for the ElliptiGO experience and who have inspired the community through their actions, words, and accomplishments. We present this honor during the Awards Ceremony and Dinner hosted by the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club.

Each year, we give the title of October Riders of the Month to these recipients. We’re proud to introduce you to Kim Nedeau and Allen Kilpatrick, our 2022 Authentic & Inspiring Award Winners!

Kim Nedeau is a running coach and one of our outstanding ElliptiGO Enthusiasts. She is a life-long, accomplished runner and discovered our bikes as a way to supplement training and increase overall weekly volume. She places high in road races across the country, with much of her training leading up to her races on her elliptical bike. She was featured as our Rider of the Month in June of 2020.

“When I’m on my ElliptiGO bike, I am totally free to train as hard as I want,” Kim shared. “When I’m riding, I’m exploring all the places, climbing all the hills, crossing town lines, and stopping for treats at adorable country stores 15 miles from my house– basically all the qualities that don’t come with running. In my riding, I’m motivated by the freedom I experience when flying down the rural roads where I live.

In 2021, Kim became the World Champion of Elliptical Cycling with a time of 1:26:17. This was the third fastest time ever logged by a female athlete in our annual ride up Palomar Mountain. Off the bike, she was also chasing podiums. She took third place in the women’s field at this year’s Mt. Washington Road Race – which covers 7.6 miles and 4,650 vertical feet with a 22% max grade. Kim told us she’s already eyeing next year’s race and added, “What can I say, I love to climb!”

She’s an amazing example of how ElliptiGO bikes can impact athletes and their results, and she is dedicated to sharing these tools with others. Kim was the top performing ElliptiGO Enthusiast in 2021, bringing 21 new ElliptiGO riders into the fold and putting 23 new bikes on the road. She’s on track to take this title again in 2022.

On top of that, Kim is an active and authentic community member. You can find her organizing local group rides, offering helpful tips and engaging stories in our customer-run Facebook Group, and participating in the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club’s annual Get Out and GO Challenge!

We asked Kim how it felt to be named one of our Authentic & Inspiring Award winners. She said, “It’s such an honor! I was more than surprised when Bryan Pate called to let me know. It’s hard not to gush about my ElliptiGO bikes and share the love with the people around me.”

While Kim wasn’t able to attend Rally Weekend this year, she had a message for everyone there: 

“First, I miss them! This is an incredibly tight-knit community. I’ve made friends through riding, which I never expected…My family went through a challenging year and my ElliptiGO buddies have checked in with me for months — that’s why I love this group. Regarding Palomar, my advice is to: ride hard, repeat a mantra, lock into your comfy gear, find your rhythm and then enjoy a wonderful post-race meal with friends.”

Kim, thank you for inspiring us on the race course and off. We can’t wait to see what you do next as you bring your excellence, expertise, and encouragement to our community for years to come!

Our second Authentic & Inspiring award winner is someone you might recognize from a past Ride of the Month feature. Allen Kilpatrick is a Navy veteran, husband, and dad who originally discovered ElliptiGO bikes and began riding to reclaim his health and fitness. He did just that, reaching his weight loss goals and rediscovering other sports he loves, including basketball and running. We first took big notice of Allen when he was racking up some serious mileage and had the Global ElliptiGO Riders Club buzzing. Back in 2020, he had completed 16 full Century rides and accumulated close to 10,000 ElliptiGO Miles. Are you ready to hear where his numbers are now?

Get ready – these stats are mind blowing! Allen has now completed the most Century riders on an ElliptiGO bike, with 92 under his belt and counting! In 2021, he logged the most ElliptiGO miles in a single year with 21,406 recorded. That pencils out to averaging nearly 60 miles/day for 365 days! He’s also entering the ElliptiGO record books for being the quickest to reach 50,000 lifetime miles.

When we asked Allen about these accomplishments, he replied with his signature humbleness and gratitude: “I don’t keep up with the records or try to set records, but it is nice to know that I may have set a record. That is super cool! This year, I have primarily focused on myself and have tried hard to avoid comparing myself to anyone but myself.”

“Riding has become a form of therapy and a tool to refocus my thoughts on the positive and important aspects of life. Hoping on the bike for a long ride is a great way to escape the negativity and the daily stresses of work, life, etc… My main motivation to keep pushing myself to new heights is my overall physical and mental health.”

As Allen looks ahead, he’s excited about the arrival of his new daughter in early 2023 and finding ways to bring her out on the ride with him! He’s also eyeing some new records. Allen is hoping to ride 275-300 miles in less than 24 hours. He’s also working toward reducing his fastest century ride time from 5:13:32 to 5 hours flat. He’s thinking about a Duathlon as well!

We asked Allen how it felt to find out he was one of our Authentic & Inspiring Award Winners. Here’s what he told us:

“It feels great! I ride for enjoyment so to be recognized is nice. I was shocked but honored to be recognized, but mostly surprised because I usually seek to hide in plain sight so it is amazing that anyone would be inspired by my riding.”

Although Allen couldn’t be with us on Rally Weekend, he shared a beautiful message with those in attendance:

“I say that you should keep riding your ride. Stay focused on your personal goals and enjoy every minute of the rides that you embark on when you push off from your starting points. It doesn’t matter how fast or far you go, because the only measuring stick should be you…I wish you all well and hope you have many more fun days of GOing! Hopefully, I will get to ride with some of you again and for the first time sometime soon.”

Allen, you are such a great example of putting in the hard work and letting the results speak for themselves! You find a way to balance discipline and goal setting with a ton of fun – and that’s what ElliptiGO is all about. We can’t wait to see what record you crush next.

The Authentic & Inspiring award is just one part of the camaraderie and celebration that takes place at our Annual Rally and World Championships Weekend. Catch a recap of all the highlights from 2022’s event here.

Contact ElliptiGO with nominations to Rider of the Month or share your own story. It may just be the next feature!