It has been said that any man, no matter how small and insignificant the post he may have filled in life, who will faithfully record the events in which he has borne a share, even though incapable of himself deriving profit from the lessons he has learned, may still be of use to others,--sometimes a guide, sometimes a warning. I hope this is true. I like to think it so, for I like to think that even I,--A. S. P.,--if I cannot adorn a tale, may at least point a moral. Certain families are remarkable for the way in which peculiar gifts have been transmitted for ages. Some have been great in arms, some in letters, some in statecraft, displaying in successive generations the same high qualities which had won their first renown. In an humble fashion, I may lay claim to belong to this category. My ancestors have been ...

The lowland girl seemed to contain fire. Her hair stirred, flickered, gushed upward, blowing flame in a wind that did now blow. A tower of light shot up the sky, beginning where the girl stood. For half a second there was only light, then it took form. The form it took was Anackire. She towered, she soared. Her flesh was a white mountain. Her snake's tail a river of fire in spate. Her golden head touched the apex of the sky, and there the serpents of her hair snapped like lightnings. Her eyes were twin suns. The eight arms, outheld as the two arms of the girl had been, rested weightlessly on the air, the long fingers subtly moving... The girl standing before the well, unblasted by the entity she had released, seemed only quiescent. At last one could see that her face, as it had always been, was the face of Anackire...

Are you just an ordinary person who has always dreamed of doing something extraordinary? Then this is the book for you. Russell Mendivil is a middle-aged dad, gardener and couch potato with a history of heart attacks who, after a medical scare with his oldest daughter, decides to ride his bike 585 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles to help raise awareness and money for AIDS services. Despite the many physical and emotional struggles Russ faces in preparation for the ride, he remains inspired by the amazing people he meets along the way. This very witty yet touching story serves to prove that if he can do it, so can you.

A Bike Ride through My Life chronicles the life of author Frank Clements with bicyclesfollowing the twists and turns that his life has taken in pursuit of his passion for riding. Clements is the younger brother of Ernie Clements, winner of several British Cycling Championships and a Silver Medal in the 1948 Olympic Games Bicycle Race. Despite his love of cycling, he first chose to join National Service in the RAF to establish a unique place for himselfand spent virtually all of his final twelve months of service riding a bike. After his tour of duty ended, he began training to become the best cyclist in the world, his lifes ambition since his success as a potential world class cyclist as a teen. Clements has had many ups and downs in his cycling life. At a young age, he came in second in the British under-eighteen championships and just missed being a member of the British Olympic Cycling team for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. He also designed, built, and loaned five special Cross country bikes to Roger Hammond and he won the Worlds Cyclo Cross Championship with them. This memoir follows Clements from youth to retirement, offering a fascinating trip through an amazing life.

The moment the car hit her, everything changed for Charlotte Roach. Out on a training ride with other Olympic hopefuls, elite athletes all of them, Charlotte was just 21 years old with the dream of making the GB triathlon team. Now, as she lay on the tarmac with a broken back, waiting for the air ambulance, she was drifting in and out of consciousness, fighting for her life. Nearly two years later, Charlotte sat on her bike in China, waiting for the sun to rise. Ahead of her was a journey that would span 10,000km. Her plan was as simple as it was daunting: cycle from Beijing to London in a roughly straight line, over six long, arduous months. ‘A Long Ride Home’ interweaves the story of Charlotte’s recovery with the bike ride in all its triumph and challenge. It is a story of the dedication it takes to follow a dream, and the depths of perseverance needed when that dream is broken by misfortune. Most of all it is the story of a woman and her bike and of the healing and redemption found on two wheels. The author’s royalties from this ebook go to Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance.