Gaimon gathers the absolute gems from his monthly Q & A feature column in VeloNews magazine, adding a dose of fresh commentary and even more acerbic and sharp-eyed insights. He answers every question you've always wanted to ask about pro cycling-- sort of. And he pokes fun at his younger self while doing it.
From the author of the cult favorite Pro Cycling on $10 a Day and Ask a Pro, the story of one man’s quest to realize his childhood dream, and what happened when he actually did it. Like countless other kids, Phil Gaimon grew up dreaming of being a professional athlete. But unlike countless other kids, he actually pulled it off. After years of amateur races, hard training, living out of a suitcase, and never taking “no” for an answer, he finally achieved his goal and signed a contract to race professionally on one of the best teams in the world. Now, Gaimon pulls back the curtain on the WorldTour, cycling’s highest level. He takes readers along for his seasons in Europe, covering everything from rabid, water-bottle-stealing Belgian fans, to contract renewals, to riding in poisonous smog, to making friends in a sport plagued by doping. Draft Animals reveals a story as much about bike racing as it is about the never-ending ladder of achieving goals, failure, and finding happiness if you land somewhere in-between.
"Abandoning his former life as a couch potato and gamer, Phil Gaimon begin riding a bicycle in 2004 with the goal of shedding a few pounds. By sheer accident, he discovered he was a natural, advancing so rapidly through the amateur ranks that he entered the pro peloton utterly ignorant of a century of cycling etiquette. He recounts the difficulties of making ends meet on a salary of $166 a month, the politics and friendships of the peloton, and the ups and downs as he pursues a life as a pro cyclist"--