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Every year, two friends from the heart of Belgium load up their ElliptiGO bikes, head toward a destination that only one of them knows and ride off into another country. They ride to explore new destinations, meet new people, enjoy new foods — and above all, to experience an adventure. This year, their destination was the United States, and what an adventure it was! Meet Johan Cardyn and Paul Gabriëls, our June 2026 Riders of the Month.

Two Riders, Two Different Roads

Johan grew up in and still lives in the little village of Haacht, located in central Belgium. He turns 60 later this year, and these days he works as a technician at a company that employs people with disabilities who have a hard time finding work elsewhere. Johan is the proud father of two daughters, ages 24 and 22, from a previous marriage.

Paul, 56, grew up on the opposite side of Belgium from Johan — but only 40 miles away. (Belgium is, after all, a small country.) Paul met his wife at a festival in Leuven and moved there to join her when he was 22. Together they raised two children, now 29 and 27. Paul works for an energy company.

Although Haacht and Leuven are just a short bike ride apart from each other in Central Belgium, Johan and Paul were strangers to one another. Johan didn’t participate in sports at all. Paul, on the other hand, was a lifelong endurance athlete, participating in events like the triathlon at only 16 years old. The one thing they had in common, unfortunately, was pain.

Doctor’s Orders

Years of heavy physical work had left Johan with serious back pain. A flare-up could leave him in bed for a week at a time, relying on injections just to calm his back down. He ended up at what Belgians call “back school” and Americans call “physical therapy.” And there in the waiting room was an ElliptiGO bike.

Johan was immediately intrigued. He recalls, “I like technical things and I like design. So I thought it was a very nice thing to see.”

The bike belonged to Hendrik Maes, a physiotherapist who founded ElliptiGO België, Belgium’s official ElliptiGO dealer. Johan rented a bike from Hendrik for a weekend, then promptly bought his first ElliptiGO bike, an 8S.

“I discovered it was very good for my back,” says Johan. “And after one year my back troubles were gone. So I swear by the ElliptiGO.”

The more he rode, the stronger Johan became. He began attempting longer and longer distances and got an 11R. Over six or seven years, he put so many miles on one bike that, as he likes to say, “I rode it about one and a half times around the world.” To celebrate, he bought a second 11R. 

His personal record is an incredible feat: Johan rode 516 kilometers (321 miles) in 30 hours of nonstop riding. “No sleep,” he adds. “Medically, it was totally irresponsible!” He attempted a nonstop 600-kilometer ride once, decided that was enough crazy for one lifetime, and now happily balances more moderate long rides with time spent with his girlfriend.

Johan has eagerly shared his ElliptiGO enthusiasm. He started a Belgian ElliptiGO Facebook group that has grown to nearly 900 members. Additionally, he handles repairs and maintenance for riders throughout the country. “I’m the mechanical man,” he says proudly.

For several years, he also helped Hendrik promote ElliptiGO bikes at events and by offering ElliptiGO test rides to prospective owners. Johan shares, “I saw so many people smile when they tried an ElliptiGO bike. It’s wonderful.”

In 2012, Paul suffered a hip injury that ended his triathlon career. After taking two years off from physical activity and going through a hip operation, Paul was still unable to run or cycle. He began working with a physiotherapist to rebuild his fitness. That physiotherapist was Hendrik Maes. Ultimately, Hendrik suggested that Paul try something new: riding an ElliptiGO bike.

“I tried the ElliptiGO and I was immediately at peace,” he recalls. “It’s really the perfect workout, because you’re in the ideal position, standing up. You have to engage your core and your glutes. It’s very good for the body.”

Paul purchased an 8S and experienced incredible results. He shares, “The ElliptiGO really regenerated my body. After a few years on the ElliptiGO bike, I could run again.” He now competes in CrossFit and HYROX and even participated in a triathlon last year, just for the fun of it.

“If It’s Okay for You, It’s Okay for Me”

Johan and Paul finally met in 2016 while participating in a time trial in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. After returning to Belgium, they started riding together on Sundays, often with other members of the Belgian ElliptiGO community.

Paul planned a multi-week ElliptiGO cycling trip in Spain and invited Johan to join him for one of those weeks. Paul says that traveling solo is nice, “But it’s nicer to be two. It’s better to share the adventure.” And so that single week of riding together sparked an annual tradition of multi-day ElliptiGO cycling trips that is now seven years strong.

In many ways, Paul and Johan are opposites. Paul is a meticulous planner who maps multiple routes with Google Maps and Komoot. Johan enjoys the unknown, and is happy to find out where they’re going on departure day.

Paul explains, “I prepare three trips, and the day before we leave I decide which one we take, depending on the weather forecast for the region. Johan has to guess where we’re going.”

They load the ElliptiGO bikes into a vehicle, hit the road, and Johan spends the drive trying to work out what country they are bound for. One year, on the day they were set to depart on a trip, they postponed their start by a full week because the weather forecast looked grim in all of Paul’s potential routes.

Paul is the fast, explosive rider. Johan is the engine that never quits. Ultimately, that makes them evenly matched as long-distance riders. They typically cover 60 to 90 miles a day on their trips.

What the duo has in common is flexibility. Paul notes potential lodging options along their routes, but they don’t book any rooms in advance. That way, they can go with the flow and stop to see local attractions. They can adjust their riding distance depending on how they feel and what the weather is like. When they feel like stopping for the day, they find the nearest hotel or campsite with space. Their easygoing motto is: “If it’s okay for you, it’s okay for me.”

Now Johan and Paul have ridden through Spain several times, as well as France, England, Italy and Slovenia. Each spring, they start riding together again in Belgium, rebuilding after winter with 25-mile rides. They work their way up to 60- or 70-mile rides to prepare for the long days of riding on their cycling trips. 

On their trips, they travel very light, each bringing just a small under-bike bag and a backpack. They shower daily and do laundry every few days to stay fresh. “You can live for a month with a little bag and nothing else,” Johan notes. “You just take your bike, you start riding, and in the evening you stop riding — and that’s it. You don’t need anything more.”

Adventures in America

This year, Johan and Paul’s annual ElliptiGO road trip was extra special. It was a month-long celebration of Johan’s upcoming 60th birthday, and this time Johan knew the destination, because they had to fly from Belgium to the United States.

The pair shipped their bikes and flew into Atlanta, Georgia. When they went through customs, they say the conversation went something like this:

Agent: What are you doing here?

Johan and Paul: Riding a bike.

Agent: Where are you staying?

Johan and Paul: We don’t know.

The agent welcomed them to the U.S., and their latest adventure began.

Johan and Paul rode all the way to New Orleans, more than 2,250 kilometers (1,398 miles) over 21 riding days, with a few days off here and there. They were treated to weeks of warm, dry weather and a steady stream of friendly Americans who were curious about the seatless bikes and the European riders.

“People always ask if the bikes are electric,” Johan and Paul say. “We say, ‘No, it’s elliptical, not electrical. It’s powered from the heart.’”

Of course, no true adventure goes smoothly. On a Sunday near Pensacola, Florida, Paul’s front wheel gave out, stranding him on the patio of a Piggly Wiggly — happily, one that served excellent milkshakes. Johan rode ahead for help, while back in Belgium his girlfriend tracked down an open bike shop. The shop had the right 20-inch wheel but no matching tire, so the staff pulled tires off their display bikes until they found one that fit.

Rather than wait for an Uber, Johan strapped the new wheel to his backpack and rode back toward Paul — and promptly ran over a nail, flattening his own rear wheel. The repair kit, naturally, was in Paul’s bag back at the Piggly Wiggly. So the two friends walked toward each other, pushing their broken bikes, until they met in the middle and patched everything up.

Their ultimate destination, New Orleans, had one more unfortunate surprise in store. Just outside the city — which sits below sea level and still bears scars from Hurricane Katrina — the pair encountered a flooded road. They spotted a grassy strip alongside the road and tried to bypass the water by riding on higher ground.

It worked … until it didn’t. With Johan in the lead, the “grass” suddenly gave way and he vanished, bike and all, into chest-deep water, his shoes sinking into the mud.

Johan can’t swim, but he stayed calm and simply asked, “Paul, can you help me, please?” Paul hauled out the ElliptiGO bike first (priorities!), then pulled Johan to safety.

As Johan points out, the photo doesn’t capture the worst part: “What you don’t get in the picture is the smell.” Drenched, muddy and laughing about it later, they pushed on to New Orleans.

Ride. Eat. Repeat.

Paul says traveling by ElliptiGO is the way to GO. “It’s a fantastic way to travel, because you reach places you would never get to by car or on foot,” he explains.

In addition to enjoying the scenery on their travels, Paul and Johan love to meet people and enjoy local cuisine. They fondly recall wine-fueled lunches in Spain and a memorable American margarita so large that it was served in a giant bowl instead of a glass.

They often eat a second dinner so they can enjoy more food and meet more people at local restaurants. After all, Johan jokes, “It’s functional! With all the mileage, we need the calories!”

What’s Next? Only Paul Knows

Paul is already planning their 2027 trip. True to form, only Paul knows the details. He will reveal that one of the three possibilities is the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Johan, of course, would rather not know where they’re going. Looking a few years ahead, the duo dreams of riding across Vietnam to mark Paul’s 60th birthday.

Wherever they may travel together, the two friends are ready for more adventures. They say, “Together we are much stronger than we are apart.”

Congratulations, Johan and Paul!

Congratulations to Johan Cardyn and Paul Gabriëls, our June 2026 Riders of the Month! The two of you prove that on the road of life, it’s best to travel with friends. Here’s to many more heart-powered miles, mystery destinations and second dinners together! Thank you for sharing your travels and your love of ElliptiGO bikes.

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