Pro Cycling on $10 a Day

From Fat Kid to Euro Pro

Phil Gaimon

• Publisher: VeloPress
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN:
  9781937716554
• Print ISBN:
  9781937715120

In his book Pro Cycling on $10 a Day, Phil Gaimon brings the full powers of his wit to tell his story.Plump, grumpy, slumped on the couch, and going nowhere fast at age 16, Phil Gaimon began riding a bicycle with the grand ambition of shedding a few pounds before going off to college. He soon fell into racing and discovered he was a natural, riding his way into a pro contract after just one season despite utter ignorance of a century of cycling etiquette. Presented here as a guide--and a warning--to aspiring racers who dream of joining the professional racing circus, Phil's adventures in road rash serve as a hilarious and cautionary tale of frustrating team directors and broken promises. Phil's education in the ways of the peloton, his discouraging negotiations for a better contract, his endless miles crisscrossing America in pursuit of race wins, and his conviction that somewhere just around the corner lies the ticket to the big time fuel this tale of hope and ambition from one of cycling's best story-tellers.Pro Cycling on $10 a Day chronicles the racer's daily lot of blood-soaked bandages, sleazy motels, cheap food, and overflowing toilets. But it also celebrates the true beauty of the sport and the worth of the journey, proving in the end that even among the narrow ranks of world-class professional cycling, there will always be room for a hard-working outsider.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Confession
• Preface
• Introduction: It’s Precarious
• 1. Take What You Can Get
• 2. Get in Your Fucking Car
• 3. Put It in the 11
• 4. Pay Your Dues Again
• 5. Keep Racing as Long as You Can
• 6. Hold It Down
• 7. Get Serious
• 8. You Gotta Believe
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author