Ryan Parnes' Heroes of NorCal Cycling

On this page I plan to do interviews and give shout-outs to other racers and pillars of the cycling community whom I deem worthy of a few kind words. There are plenty of people, both old hands and new faces, always lighting up the roads and quite deserving of a bit of sweet, sweet blog-lovin'. I'm also willing to consider nominations, so if there's anyone around here who you think deserves a few minutes in the admittedly dim spotlight this blog provides, by all means send their name my way.

NorCal Hero Number 2: Philip Mooney

Okay, I think you all knew this was coming, but its time to finally acknowledge the utter domination of my friend and teammate Philip Mooney. Phil is relatively new to the sport of cycling, 2010 being his first full season of racing. Unless I'm mistaken, this year saw his first appearances in NRC races, and he'll finish the year with well over 80 race days - that's about as many as he'd done in his previous 3 seasons combined. But Phil doesn't get a shoutout here just because he's the new kid on the block, he gets the nod because he's a friggin' win factory.

Phil has smashed up the local racing scene, netting 10+ wins across all three road disciplines and so many trips up to the podium that he had to do some of his base season on a stair stepper to prep. Phil is the NCNCA Best All-Around Rider, a coveted title in one of the most competitive racing districts in the country. Mooney also won the 6-week-long California Cup series, but his success extends well beyond the Norcal scene as well. Phil had some rippin' rides at the Elite National Road Championships, ascending the podium in both the individual time trial and the road race. He also bit down on some rawhide and finished the Tour of Utah, America's toughest stage race, when over half the field called it quits.

However, its not just Phil's results that have earned him a spot on this page, but the aggressive style in which he earns them. Mooney has an engine, that's no secret, and he's not satisfied unless he's off the front putting it to good use. Phil is not content to merely win a race, he wants to destroy the field. I've heard him say that its not a real win unless you cross the line solo, and he doesn't care if he has to die a thousand times do it (as a sprinter I'm inclined to disagree, but whatever.) Maybe some of that is his sick and twisted time trialist mentality, but regardless of the cause its disturbing to encounter a man who just loves to hurt so damn much. In fact, it is one of the world's great paradoxes that Phil is only truly comfortable when he is absolutely suffering. At first glance it seems that Mooney might just be one of the world's sickest masochists, which would make him a pretty good cyclist. My own theory is that he's a certifiable sadist: he knows that when he's feeling a burn everyone else in the peloton is in pants-shitting agony. And if being a masochist might make you pretty good, being a sadist could make you great.

The real kicker, though, is that Phil has some kind of midwestern voodoo charm. He's about the nicest guy you'll meet this side of Pleasantville, and for that reason he can utterly humiliate all the P/1/2s in NorCal and still be one of the most well-liked guys in cycling. Its pretty unbelievable; he could rip your legs off and beat you with them and you'd thank him for the privilege. In all seriousness, Phil is one of the most personable guys in bike racing and if you've been to any local races you've probably chatted with him. Many is the time I've had to hang around, sweat-soaked and hungry, after a race while Mooney talks to everyone in attendance, joking with his peers and offering advice and encouragement to juniors. In a sport where so many people take everything so damn seriously, its refreshing to have a guy around who's confident enough to be positive and friendly with teammates and competitors alike. Toss in the fact that Phil is a selfless teammate and you'd be hard pressed to find anyone you'd rather race with (or against) in all of California.

Now I'm not saying he's perfect; Phil's Lance-Love does border on fanatical and he has some peculiar ideas about proper nutrition...

His style is questionable, he's battling a crippling iphone addiction, and he holds his liquor like... well... he just doesn't hold his liquor...

 But despite all that, this guy's is the real deal. After a single full season on the road Phil has established himself as one of the best elite riders in California, if not the country. Remember the name Phil Mooney... or don't. It doesn't really matter, because you'll be seeing enough of it on cycling websites and magazines so that you won't have to. Just remember I said it here first.

NorCal Hero Number 1: Nate English 

 Nate English (right) on the podium at Mt. Hood CC (photo by Pat Malach)

The votes are in and tallied and your very first Hero of NorCal Cycling is none other than Echelon/Gran Fondo's Nate English. Nate has been one of the most consistent riders in the regional scene, but his recent, single-handed domination of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic is what earned him this prestigious title. In the absence of any teammates or logistical support Mr. English relied solely on his iron will and balls of steel and whipped his carbon pony through six grueling stages to a 3rd place overall. On the podium he joined overall winner Mark de Maar, who is coming off of a 13th place overall at the TOUR OF CALIFORNIA, and 2nd place Michael Creed, one of the strongest riders in the U.S.

Nate is one of those guys who left competitive running to come smash up the sport of cycling (ahem... Paul Mach *cough). Nate only started racing in the spring of 2007 but upgraded to Cat 1 in less than a year and a half.  Most people go a lifetime and don't get close to their Cat 1 upgrade. Doing it in a year and a half is almost unheard of.  Nate seems to be one of those guys who can set himself a goal and then pursue it with meticulous preparation and single-minded dedication. Word has it he noticed he was strong when he was cruising around doing recreational rides and then decided that when he got out of college he'd try his hand at professional cycling -- having never even raced before. That's pretty nuts. What's downright crazy is the fact that he's within spitting distance of achieving that goal.

Cycling is a strange sport in that professional status is often granted based on pretty subjective measures of talent. Its not like swimming or track where you can post a time and know exactly how you stack up. You have to win races, you have to win them consistently, and you have to beat people who are established as pillars of the sport.  Even then there's no guarantee; its up to a team director to decide to give you a shot. Nate has been beating the crap out of the NorCal locals for a long time now, but its his repeated success at the national level that's most impressive, and most likely to get the attention of team directors.

Beyond his dominance at Mt Hood this year, Nate has twice graced the top ten in the Elite National Time Trial, finishing 10th in 2008 and 4th in 2009, just 5 seconds off the podium. TTs be damned though, Nate's real strength is his climbing. The guy seems to be able to peg it at about 480 watts and ride there all day. ALL DAY. He may never win a sprint in his life, but if you give this guy a hill to drop people on there aren't going to be many people to sprint against. How well does he climb? Well, he currently holds the course record on Mt. Diablo and we all saw him ride away from the field on the Wy'East stage of hood, dragging former ProTour rider Patrick McCarty and Marcel Aarden to the line. Yeah, the kid can climb.

But he can't always win, and that's a sticking point. Nate has an impressive list second place finishes:
-2nd to Phil Mooney at Berkeley Hills TT.
-2nd to James LaBerge at the Nap River Velo Grand Prix.
-2nd to Phil Mooney at Berkeley Hills RR.
-2nd to Adam Switters at Pescadero RR.

Now believe me when I say its not for lack of strength that Nate is having trouble finding the top step. I'd wager that more often than not he's the strongest guy in the race. The problem is that his strength is paralleled only by the dubiousness of his strategy. Nate hasn't quite learned how to bide his time and conserve his energy in challenging races, and its keeping him from truly destroying every race he enters. Some of this might be frustration at how slow everyone else in the race is riding (I've never seen someone ride in the wind just for the hell of it), but some of it has to do with the fact that Nate doesn't have a super strong, or greatly experienced team around him. Believe you me it makes a huge difference having strong, smart teammates that you can depend on, and who in turn depend on you.

I sincerely hope that somebody realizes the incredible potential of this young man and gives him a shot at the next level of cycling. All Nate needs is a couple of good guys to help keep him in line and channel his talent and he's going to be a star. To top it all off the guy is a soft-spoken gent and one of the nicest guys you'll meet on or off the bike. I sincerely wish him all the best in the sport and look forward to having my legs torn off by him in a race sometime soon.

Ride on, Nate English, Hero of Norcal Cycling.