GamJams.net: Where Mid-Atlantic bike racers roll

How Good Can You Be?

How Good Can You Be?
by Peter Cannell
Founder & Principal, Cannell Champion Training

A question every athlete wonders and thinks about during training, planning and working with their coach is, "How good can I be?" It doesn't matter if you have been riding for many years or just started, the question invariably comes up - "How good can I be?". Cycling is the type of sport that takes years to really excel at, not the kind of competition you can simply pick up quickly and be great.

There are a number of factors that will determine if you will be any good or not, including: VO2 max, age, riding skills, adaptations to training and not least of all your dedication and motivation. The first two factors you have near zero control over. VO2 max is determined by the size of your lungs, stroke volume of your heart, basically the size of your engine. Your body can only process so much O2, and training state will not change this a great deal. Age - well, that one is easy. Start early. However, starting at a later stage in life is not necessarily a bad thing, and many riders have developed and excelled starting late in life. Riding skills - this is much like developing hand-eye coordination, you either have a solid foundation of coordination and control of your body or you don't. Some guys look comfortable, completely in control and natural on the bike, while others look scared, tight and always on the verge of falling off the bike. If you are lacking in skills then practice, make it part of your daily training - every day, carve out time to work on skills. If you fall into the latter category, practice is quite important, but don't expect miracles to happen, you probably won't be the guy at the front of the field in your next pro/1 criterium.

This brings me to the next factor, adaptations to training. This is a critical aspect of rider development. Applying the appropriate type of training stimulus and then recovering from that training is paramount and very few riders get this completely correct. Most riders I come across really enjoy riding "hard" - they like to hammer, like to go out and ride long, do hilly rides, hard group rides and come home tired. Most riders like to do this TOO much. The overwhelming majority of racers neglect the recovery aspect of training and the result is frequent sickness, mental staleness or stagnating or declining fitness. Determining the appropriate training stimulus for a particular rider is something that only experience and testing will show - i.e., what type of training elicits the most gains in fitness. One rider may benefit more from a high volume of threshold work while another might progress faster with more VO2 work.

While entire articles can be written about recovery, it is worth discussing a bit in this context. When evaluating a rider's potential you have to consider their entire daily life and what that is made up of. Are they engaged in manual labor, long work hours, stressful family life? Can the rider afford to have nutritious food available and in the proper portions? An athlete with an optimal recovery situation including plenty of restful sleep, regular naps, quality food, stimulating but not overly stressful work and family life will make excellent gains in fitness.

Finally we come to motivation and attitude. Without exception I feel this is the most important factor in determining potential for athletic success. The body will do what the mind wills it to, no question about it. I am not suggesting you can get off the couch and ride a 50 min 40km TT, but the mind is incredibly powerful and can provide the energy, motivation and drive to achieve amazing things. Having a very focused, strong level of motivation for excellence is not the norm. Most people do not have this valuable asset and those that do are often called crazy, nuts, delusional, unhealthy, etc. Think about the barefoot marathon runner clocking in at 2:15, the guy riding in the 40 degree rain or someone who leaves a warm bed at 4AM to train while others sleep. Having a strong desire to excel is absolutely essential - it will allow you to push through levels of effort and suffering you never thought possible. It will allow you to pass on unhealthy foods or other poor lifestyle choices with ease, while others give in to temptation.

So when a riders asks "how good can I be" - there are many factors to consider. The vast majority of riders have to strike a balance between riding, family and work life and are not looking to win a national championship, but simply be the best they can, given the constraints that exist in their life. They want to have fun, enjoy racing but be the best they can be. Others may have sights set on a national or world championship or maybe completing a 100 mile ride is the goal. Whatever the goal is, being honest with yourself about your goals is important and as a coach it is important to be realistic yet completely without pre-determined limits when discussing goals with an athlete.

--

Peter Cannell is the founder and principal of Cannell Champion Training, a highly personalized coaching service that focuses on maximizing an athlete’s full potential through discipline and focus while balancing work and family life.  Peter can be reached by email or at www.cannellchampiontraining.com.

Peter Cannell on Indoor Training

Indoor Training
by Peter Cannell
2008 US Masters 30-34 Time Trial National Champion
2007 US Masters 30-34 Road Race National Champion
Founder & Principal, Cannell Champion Training

This article will focus on the topic of “Indoor Training”, specifically riding your road or TT bike indoors.  There are a number of important factors to consider when embracing indoor training and I will try to cover the basics here.  To successfully incorporate indoor training into your cycling life, considerations such as why to train indoors, what equipment to use and proper setup of your space are critical.  

Training indoors brings an element of simplicity and purity to workouts that can be very difficult to reproduce outside, especially for those living in urban areas.  Distractions such as schedules, family obligations and weather are removed.  There is no need to worry about what the group ride is doing or if your training partner is going too fast or too slow.  Indoor training allows for uninterrupted workouts that can be extremely effective, efficient and something that just about every cyclist can benefit from.

The right environment and equipment make all of the difference between an enjoyable training session and one that is more like torture.  First of all, it is best if you have a place in your home designated for such activity.  This way you are not hauling out all kinds of equipment every time you have a workout to do.  Basements and garages are excellent choices - basically anywhere you can carve out a space and hopefully get plenty of fresh air and ventilation.  Ideally some type of rubber flooring or rubber mat should be used to keep things tidy.  Cooling and ventilation should be your next concern, and one that should not be ignored.  Your ability to generate power and enjoy the workout will be greatly reduced if you cannot keep your body cool.  A very large fan is a necessity – specifically one that moves 4000cfm or more of air.  Having fresh cool ventilation through open windows or a garage door is also very important.

Many riders find that having music, TV or movies make the time go by faster.  An ipod with the TV going (on mute with CC) is the way to go.  Having good music you associate with excellent athletic performances is very powerful and not to be overlooked.  When you have a good playlist that works well for workouts and gets you fired up, it can also be very beneficial to use during race warm-ups.

On equipment – I have strong feelings about what the best way to ride indoors is, but there are a variety of trainers and rollers that work quite well.  My favorite is the inside ride e-motion rollers, followed closely by Trutrainer rollers, then kurt kinetic pro model fluid trainer.  The key thing is having realistic resistance and a good solid road feel.  Cheaping out on the equipment will simply make the workouts more annoying or downright difficult to complete – but the right gear will make riding inside a true pleasure.

Now one of the most convenient aspects of indoor training is that it can be done any time of day regardless of weather.  This is very important for athletes with commitments that can make getting outdoors difficult.  This is especially true during the winter months, but many athletes find that it makes scheduling workouts so much easier that they adopt indoor training year round.  Personally I prefer first thing in the morning workouts as much as possible.  There are no reasons whatsoever that you cannot do a workout before work, before the kids get up, etc – it is a really great way to achieve consistent workouts.

Finally – what you do once you get on the trainer or rollers is important as well.  It is critical to have a very specific goal every time you ride indoors and it can be very useful to write out that workout goal on a small whiteboard and have it staring you in the face.   I won’t get into the details of what you should be doing, but focused, specific workouts are key – warmup, do the workout set, cooldown.  There is little reason to spend more than 90 min indoors, and most really good workouts can be done in 60 minutes.  

I have found through both my own experience and working with numerous athletes that indoor training is akin to a secret weapon to use not only during the winter months but throughout the season.  Athletes that embrace the pure nature of hard workouts, done in an efficient manor will achieve better gains than those who are beholden to the weather and other constraints that exist with riding outside year round.

--

Peter Cannell is the founder and principal of Cannell Champion Training, a highly personalized coaching service that focuses on maximizing an athlete’s full potential through discipline and focus while balancing work and family life.  Peter can be reached by email or at www.cannellchampiontraining.com. 

Early Season Base Building: Match your Training Plan to your Race Objectives

(Peter Cannell sparked a lot of discussion in the racing community in 2008 when his Time Trial Series on GamJams suggested a training program focused on LT intensity, rather than long, slower endurance rides. I asked him to dig a little deeper into that philosophy here, and apply it towards the base building period many cyclists are in currently. Leave any questions for Pete in the Comments, where he will answer them.)

Early Season Base Building: Match your Training Plan to your Race Objectives
by Peter Cannell
2009 US Masters 35-39 Time Trial National Champion
2008 US Masters 30-34 Time Trial National Champion
2007 US Masters 30-34 Road Race National Champion
Founder & Principal, Cannell Champion Training

This article will focus on the topic of “base training” and how an athlete goes about building fitness for the racing season.  In cycling there are many terms that are oftentimes poorly defined and misunderstood, and base training is one of those terms.  It has been used and talked about for a long time, certainly before I ever started racing.  I will offer my take on base training in this article and how it can be put into practice.

Traditionally, in cycling and many endurance sports, the fall and winter are devoted almost exclusively to long, slow distance work (a.k.a., “base training”).  In some instances, any type of intensity is avoided in order to avoid disrupting the base building process.  Many athletes follow this plan, and many enjoy success later in the season. But it's not the only way to accomplish base building, and while decidedly "pro," it might not match the objectives of many amateur cyclists.

Time Trial Success, Part 4: Race Day Prep and Mental Fitness

(This is the final in a 4-part series on Time Trial Success, written by Peter Cannell. Peter is the reigning Masters 30-34 National TT Champion, his second stars and stripes jersey after winning the Masters 30-34 Road Race Championships in 2007. Peter also won the 2008 Tour of Washington County Stage Race, and landed on the podium against the NRC Pros in Crystal City in 2007. When he's not setting course records on his TT bike, he's coaching other racers. You can follow his training and racing on his blog (where he is generous with his power data), and leave any questions for him in the comments here.)

Time Trial Success, Part 4: Race Day Prep and Mental Fitness
by Peter Cannell
2008 US Masters 30-34 Time Trial National Champion, Professional Cycling Coach

It is now race day - how do you best prepare to race and make your way through the 20 to 60 minutes of effort that are about to begin?

Pre-Race Preparations

First things first - get to the race early. Pack all your stuff ahead of time. Don't get there late and run around like a fool trying to register while yelling at everyone.  No one likes that.  Know your start time; get there an hour before that at least.

Plan on finishing your warmup and getting to the lineup 5 minutes before your start time - of course verify the official time prior and be there on time.  I can't stress this enough.

Hit the start ramp in the proper gear that will allow you to accelerate quickly to speed.  Don't be shifting or messing with the bike at this point - you should ready to go when you line up.  If you have someone with you take a drink and give them the bottle or leave it at the start.

It's Go Time

Ok - now the race has begun.  Get in the aero position as soon as you get up to speed.  Settle down into your pace as soon as you can.  I can't stress this enough - don't start too hard.  If you are using a powermeter get settled into your pace as soon as possible.  But what will invariably happen is you will start too hard, because you will feel fresh and excited.  Then 5 minutes into the race you will want to quit.  You will be thinking about faking a mechanical, flat tire or some other ailment so you can stop.  I'm not kidding.  I'd bet 80% of the "mechanicals" in time trials are from starting too hard.

So you are now in the race - what are you thinking about?  Pacing and staying aero are a good way to pass the time.  Focus on being as fast as possible, don't loose focus on how you are sitting on the bike, your head position, etc.  Keep the effort steady.  STEADY!  Remember that everyone else is hurting too, and the winner will hurt every bit as much as you - maybe more.  Don't wimp out - you are riding a pace that your body can handle for the distance, just like the interval work you do regularly (at least you should be) - so the feeling of a steady hard effort should not be a new one to you.  Because you have been doing a variety of 20, 30, 40 and even 60 minute intervals – the time trial effort is no different - maybe higher intensity but it essentially a nice hard interval workout.

Breaking Up the Race

I like to break the course up into 3 parts - first half, second half and the final few KMs.  On the first half your job is to make it to the turn around safely and not have completely blown up by the time you get there.  As you approach the turn around, you can take a very quick glance at your time, power, etc as you break for the turn.  You should probably practice this ahead of time and make sure your bike works. TT bikes are notorious for being cobbled together pieces of crap that don't work.  Practice.

I should also mention that unless you have done many TTs, don't have any preconcieved notions of what time you are expecting to see at the turn around - all that matters is your time relative to everyone else's on that day - not what some guy did 2 years ago on some other course. Even so, don't worry about the time itself, just that you are doing the best effort you can.

In the second half focus on ramping up the effort ever so much – you want a slightly higher speed/power/effort here, slight negative split. You are now over 1/2 way done, which should be a good feeling.  It may seem like a long way back to the finish, but at 25 or 30 MPH, those miles go by fast, so stay focused and enjoy the race.

Now - as you approach the finish, the final 5:00 or so is when you can really ramp up the effort and drop any remaining juice you have left - you should be above threshold at this point, doing a VO2 type effort right to the line.  Once you see the line, or know you are 500m to 1km out - let loose.  Stay aero - don't get out of the saddle and sprint - it looks silly and will slow you down.  Once you finish hit stop on your computer and quickly turn to see your time - if there is a pace clock.  Hopefully you will see your best time flashing there and even possibly a #1 if you have the fastest time!

Get yourself some recovery drink asap and get cooled down.  Your legs may feel great, you may be feeling super at this point but get the drink and do a cooldown anyway.  It will be a while before you see any results anyway, so get cooled down, changed, cleaned up and then hang around the tent for results.

Mental Fitness

A few additional comments.  Mental preparation for any race is very important.  Before the race mentally go through the motions of getting ready, warming up and riding the race.  Visualize a perfect turn around, being perfectly aero and riding strong and fast.  Do this as often as you want - the more the better.

I have found that during the race, time trials are actually rather easy mentally, at least compared to tactical crits and road races. You simply ride your pace and hold it for the distance.  It hurts, but you know exactly what to expect out of your body and you do it.  In other types of racing you have to make split second decisions on attacking, countering, etc that involve drastic changes in effort and possibly quite a bit of pain.  In time trialing the pain is metered out, nice and evenly.

--

Also in this Series:
Time Trial Success Part 1: The Training Plan
Time Trial Success Part 2: 10 Things You Can Do to Go Faster this Weekend
Time Trial Success Part 3: Fit, Positioning, Equipment

--

Peter Cannell is a professional cycling coach and one really fast dude. Based in Mebane, NC, he coaches racers up and down the eastern seaboard. For more on his coaching philosophy and availability, contact him by email.

Time Trial Success, Part 3: Fit, Positioning, Equipment

(This is the third in a 4-part series on Time Trial Success, written by Peter Cannell. Peter is the reigning Masters 30-34 National TT Champion, his second stars and stripes jersey after winning the Masters 30-34 Road Race Championships in 2007. Peter also won the 2008 Tour of Washington County Stage Race, and landed on the podium against the NRC Pros in Crystal City in 2007. When he's not training for the Elite TT Championships in August, he's coaching other racers. You can follow his training and racing on his blog (where he is generous with his power data), and leave any questions for him in the comments here.)

Time Trial Success, Part 3: Fit, Positioning, Equipment
by Peter Cannell
2008 US Masters 30-34 Time Trial National Champion, Professional Cycling Coach

Time trials represent a discipline of cycling where every single small detail matters.  You can think of time trial performances boiling down to 2 things - power output and drag.  So unlike a crit or a road race where tactics, skills, and quite frankly luck sometimes can make the difference between winning and not - time trialing is the sum of a number of small things.  Some things matter alot more than others, and some things cost alot more than others.  I'll try to net out what matters and where to focus your efforts here.

Positioning:  Your body represents the largest component of drag in the rider/bike combination, so it makes sense to really try get as aerodynamic as possible.  The best way, by far, is to utilize a wind tunnel.  Wind tunnel testing is much more affordable than in years past. A typical session will run you $1000 or more, about the same amount racers spend on a TT-specific frame or a disk wheel. But often times a day at the tunnel can yield huge drag reductions that make your other aerodynamic carbon fiber investments seem like a total waste. If TT speed is high on your racing priorities, it's worthwhile to give the wind tunnel some consideration.

Whether you quantify it in the wind tunnel or not, the idea on rider positioning is that you want to punch the smallest hole through the air as possible.  This means getting low and narrow.  It also means coming forward on your saddle to accommodate this radical bike position.

I'm a believer that you should adopt the most aggressive position possible - and then work to get comfortable and powerful in that position.  A TT position is not meant to be an all day comfortable position.  It should be "tolerable" after training yourself to acclimate to it, for up to 60 minutes.  So you have to be able to hold the aero position and then you have to be able to generate power in that position.  There is usually a trade off and at some point the gains in aerodynamics are lost in reduced power output.  Now don't' get me wrong, you should not expect to hop on your TT setup for the first time, feel great, and start hammering out maximum power.  It takes time, practice and effort to get used to it.

If you are setting up your bike - a few things to try.  Remove all the spacers under your stem to get that front end as low as possible.  If you can, get an adjustable stem and drop the front end down.  Next, setup your aero bars.  You want to try and get as narrow as possible, without overly compromising your breathing.  Bars that offer various pad placement options and adjustments are best - one piece carbon bars may look cool, but usually offer little flexibility.

You will want to move your saddle forward from your road position - sometimes requiring a different seatpost.  Try starting with a UCI legal position and see how that feels.  Setup the saddle so that the tip of the saddle is 5cm behind the center of the BB as a starting point - and don't go forward of that.  You may have to try out multiple saddles before you find one you can ride out on the tip of comfortably.  I tried at least 5.  Remember that as you go forward, you also need to go a little higher to compensate.  You can do the trigonometry and figure out exactly how much - or you can just bump it up a little and see how it feels.

The order I would spend my money, if just starting out:

-Aero helmet
-Aerobars
-TT specific frame/bike
-Wind tunnel testing
-powermeter!
-misc- shoe covers, skinsuit, etc
-Aero wheels/disc (go deep)

--

Also in this Series:
Time Trial Success Part 1: The Training Plan
Time Trial Success Part 2: 10 Things You Can Do to Go Faster this Weekend
Time Trial Success Part 4: Race Day Prep and Mental Fitness

--

Peter Cannell is a professional cycling coach and one really fast dude. Based in Mebane, NC, he coaches racers up and down the eastern seaboard. For more on his coaching philosophy and availability, contact him by email.

Time Trial Success, Part 2: 10 Things You can do to Go Faster This Weekend

(This is the second in a 4-part series on Time Trial Success, written by Peter Cannell. Peter is the reigning Masters 30-34 National TT Champion, his second stars and stripes jersey after winning the Masters 30-34 Road Race Championships in 2007. Peter also won the 2008 Tour of Washington County Stage Race, and landed on the podium against the NRC Pros in Crystal City in 2007. When he's not training for the Elite TT Championships in August, he's coaching other racers. You can follow his training and racing on his blog (where he is generous with his power data), and leave any questions for him in the comments here.)

Time Trial Success, Part 2: 10 Things You can do to Go Faster This Weekend
by Peter Cannell
2008 US Masters 30-34 Time Trial National Champion, Professional Cycling Coach

Let's say you are racing the VA Time Trial Championship this weekend, and you want to go as fast as possible.  It's obviously late to start a new training program, but there are some simple things you can do before the race and during to improve your time:

1.  Warmup properly.  I'm not a huge fan of long tiring warmups, but do at least this:  10 min easy, 5:00 at race pace, 5:00 easy.  Try to finish the warm up as close to your start as possible.

2.   Know your start time and be there ON TIME!  I can't stress this enough.

3.  Tape over the vents on your helmet.  Clear packing tape works well.

4.  Proper tire pressure - depending on weight, 110 to 125 is appropriate.  More is NOT better - you end up bouncing along the road losing power.  Trust me on this.

5. Streamline your bike AND yourself. Remove bottle cages. Unless it's really hot, you don't need to drink, and if you did drink you'd be losing big time coming out of the aero position.  Leave gloves, watches, rings, medallions, bracelets in the car.  They slow you down.

6.  Stay in the aero position THE ENTIRE RACE!  With the exception of the turn around, there is no looking around, behind you, stretching, none of that.  Stay aero -with the exception if you need to shift.  Don't get out of the saddle and sprint at the end either - stay aero.  Focus on keeping your head as low as possible - don't stare down at the road - keep the head level and LOW.  This makes a huge difference in drag.

7.  Pace yourself properly - don't go out too hard.  Everyone knows this, and without exception guys always say they went out too hard and blew up.  Don't do it.

8.  Mental focus - remember that everyone else is hurting too, don't loose focus, keep the effort steady and hard.  If you want to quit the TT in the first 5 minutes you went out too hard.  Keep the effort hard and steady.

9.  Drink before your start - have someone give you a bottle during the lineup so you can get a last sip or two in.

10.  Don't eat too much before your start - most TTs start in the morning, so a light breakfast is all you need.  Don't wolf down 1500kcal before your TT - it will only slow you down. 

--

Also in this Series:
Time Trial Success Part 1: The Training Plan
Time Trial Success Part 3: Fit, Positioning, Equipment
Time Trial Success Part 4: Race Day Prep and Mental Fitness
 

--

Peter Cannell is a professional cycling coach and one really fast dude. Based in Mebane, NC, he coaches racers up and down the eastern seaboard. For more on his coaching philosophy and availability, contact him by email.

Time Trial Success, Part 1: The Training Plan

(This is the first of a 4-part series on Time Trial Success, written by Peter Cannell. Peter is the reigning Masters 30-34 National TT Champion, his second stars and stripes jersey after winning the Masters 30-34 Road Race Championships in 2007. Peter also won the 2008 Tour of Washington County Stage Race, and landed on the podium against the NRC Pros in Crystal City in 2007. When he's not training for the Elite TT Championships in August, he's coaching other racers. You can follow his training and racing on his blog (where he is generous with his power data), and leave any questions for him in the comments here.)

Time Trial Success, Part 1: The Training Plan
by Peter Cannell
2008 US Masters 30-34 Time Trial National Champion, Professional Cycling Coach

Road racing and crits (especially) are all about changing speed. If you look at the effort made in a criterium or road race, you see many spikes in power followed by frequent coasting. Often times over 25% of the race is spent not pedaling at all.

Not true with a time trial. Racing a time trial requires a rider to ride continuously at or above their functional threshold power (FTP), typically for 20 to 60 minutes or more.  The endgame here is a nearly constant effort, and this creates the need for specific training.

But while crit-specific training benefits racers almost exclusively in crits, TT-specific training can improve your racing in all disciplines. The ability to hold constant power efforts near FTP is a key ability no matter the event, and forms a base of fitness that serves racers weekend in and weekend out. Many coaches in the past have advocated long slow mileage to build "base" fitness - however in recent years many athletes and coaches have shifted this approach and focused more on improving FTP as the base of a cyclists' fitness.   As a coach and athlete I firmly believe this is a superior approach to training.

So let's get down to it.  The most efficient way of improving FTP, and the ability of the athlete to ride for extended periods at or near FTP is to do focused interval work.  Many different types of workouts improve FTP - but none is as effective as doing threshold intervals - which many athletes do year round.  These intervals typically range in time from 20 minutes to 60 minutes - they are constant power (or constant perceived exertion) efforts that train the body to deal with the muscular and metabolic demands of riding at FTP.

These intervals will allow the athlete to accumulate significant time slightly below, at or above FTP but are not so difficult that they can't be done for several days in a row - nor will they elicit a rapid peak in fitness that VO2 intervals will.  These intervals can be done outside on a steady uninterrupted stretch of road (hard to find in the DC area!) or even better on your trainer or rollers.

The gold standard of these workouts is the 2x20:00 set at 95% of FTP - if you use a powermeter then you know exactly what wattage to ride at. If you are riding by PE or heartrate - then ride at 95% of your threshold PE or heartrate, basically just below what you can do all out for an hour.  Keep in mind that you will feel better at the beginning of the interval and less so at the end - so pace the effort properly!  (more on pacing later in the series).  Remember that there is no coasting, no stopping and starting, you can't be stuck at a traffic light while doing these, just a hard steady effort.

Other variations including 2x30:00, 3x20:00 and my favorite, 1x60:00. One is not better than another; the idea is simply to accumulate time at this intensity.  I'll vary the workouts to keep things fun new and fresh.

The reader may be wondering how often/when do you incorporate these types of workouts?  Well, the simple answer in my mind is every single week, year round.  Yes, even though you may only be racing a few TTs per year, doing these workouts will significantly improve your fitness, mental strength and ability to perform in breakaways, etc.  It is clear that athletes with higher FTP will do better in races and have more in the tank at the end to unleash their sprint or last lap attack.  I have my athletes do these workouts year round - in the late fall/winter the intensity is slightly lower, the volume slightly more- and then through the season they are kept as the basis of training.

The rider who has the mental strength and practice (that's all it takes really) to hold a constant high power will excel in time trialing and will be able to extract the maximum power available to them for a given distance.

--

Also in this Series:
Time Trial Success Part 2: 10 Things You Can Do to Go Faster this Weekend
Time Trial Success Part 3: Fit, Positioning, Equipment
Time Trial Success Part 4: Race Day Prep and Mental Fitness



--

Peter Cannell is a professional cycling coach and one really fast dude. Based in Mebane, NC, he coaches racers up and down the eastern seaboard. For more on his coaching philosophy and availability, contact him by email.