Draft Animals

Living the Pro Cycling Dream (Once in a While)

By: Phil Gaimon

Narrated by: Phil Gaimon

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

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 listeners 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.

©2017 Phil Gaimon (P)2017 Tantor

Hold on to your hoods!!

A story about the good guy winning with a bit of losing too. Grabs you by the jersey and doesn't let go till you realize life's about the adventure not the arrival!

Great read! Interesting, emotional, and entertaining!

I cycle as a hobby and this was the first year I’ve watched any part of the Tour de France. I downloaded this book on a whim right before a two hour flight and couldn’t put it down. Exceptionally entertaining, interesting, and emotional. Great for learning about the world of cycling but also about the human toll I than it takes to be a professional athlete.

Thanks Phil, really appreciate your story, very entertaining and inspiring, couldn't walk away from it this weekend.

Thanks Phil, really appreciate your story, very entertaining and inspiring, couldn't walk away from it this weekend.

I have read a 3 books by Phil.

It complimented the other books well. Worth reading. He can only. Write about retirement now.

Great story

Great story - Very human and personal and real, as always, from Phil. it sounds like he is talking directly to you, just you, and he does a very nice job reading it.

Enjoyed hearing the ups and downs

Phil did a great job going through his ups and downs as a pro cyclist. As a weekend warrior it gave me a realistic look into the reality of pro cycling. Thanks Phil for the uncensored reality that is pro cycling in the post doping era.

Phil you're a funny guy and a great storyteller.

I enjoyed your references to the IE, Mount Baldy, Big Bear, all favorites of mine.

as good as it gets in the peleton

Great insight, funny moments, realistic outcomes. These are all things Phil Gaimon covers with a resting heart rate of 28 and a cookie or two in his back pocket.

I’m a fan!

I do have to admit I’m a fan of Phil’s. That being said, it’s not from his riding. I’d never heard of him until I stumbled across his YouTube channel. But his story, personality, and writing style have made me a fan. To me everything he puts out resonates with me. I truly like his stuff and the sense of humor with which it’s delivered.

I know why JV ignored him

What made the experience of listening to Draft Animals the most enjoyable?

First of all, Phil did a really good job putting together a book about his own experience in and out as pro and also throwing in some cycling dirt foreign to the outsiders. Interesting and funny. Money didn't waste on his English major. I enjoyed the book, at least most of it. A little too much wailing at the end like a high-schooler.

What other book might you compare Draft Animals to and why?

A secret race by Tyler Hamilton is a great book. I love it.

Any additional comments?

Don't let the author's own failure stop you from chasing your dreams!
Phil has the world-class physical attributes (VO2 max, power capacity and pain threshold) suppose a guy with a clean tattoo doesn't lie to protect his bruised ego. But he doesn't have a champion or winner's characters. Phil is not as disciplined or goal-driven compared with successful pros in cycling. He lets a life runs him rather than manage it. His sense of failure could be easily washed away with a few cookies or warm words from friends or strangers in social media. His priority of getting approval from fans or sponsors is over that of winning a race. In that sense, I understand why he was hired to be a "salesman" or a stage swinger in a guise of a pro cyclist. Any team manager who cares about the race results would choose a workhorse over a smart mouth, especially an old smart mouth.
A champion needs to have a tunnel vision. He is willing to do WHATEVER it takes to win and accept nothing less. A champion would internalize anything wrong into self and figure out ways to correct or avoid next time rather than hope better next time, not to mention wailing about it or using "clean" as an excuse or accusing others of doping.