The Great West prior to the century's turn abounded in legend. Stories were told of fabled gunmen whose bullets always magically found their mark of mighty stallions whose tireless gallop rivaled the speed of the wind of glorious women whose beauty stunned mind and heart. But nowhere in the vast spread of the mountain-desert country was there a greater legend told than the story of Red Pierre and the phantom gunfighter McGurk.
Humans and horses have been joined for thousands of years, and for much of that time, one thing has served as the primary point of physical contact between them: the saddle. However, for many horses and many riders, the saddle has been no less than a refined means of torture. Horses have long suffered from tree points impeding the movement of their shoulder blades; too narrow gullet channels damaging the muscles and nerves along the vertebrae; and too long panels putting harmful pressure on the reflex point in the loin area. Male riders saddle up despite riding-related pain and the potential for serious side effects, such as impotence, while female riders endure backache, slipped discs, and bladder infections, to name just a few common issues. We must ask ourselves: How much better could we ride and how much better could our horses perform if our saddles fit optimally? If they accommodated the horse’s unique conformation and natural asymmetry? If they were built for the differing anatomy of men and women? The answers to all these questions are right here, right now, in this book.
Step into the second installment of the massively popular online Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Star Stable, and follow four friends who discover their magic powers and learn that every girl can be a hero in this fantasy trilogy. The Soul Riders series tells the heroic tale of four young girls who have been chosen by destiny to save the world from the ancient demon: Garnok and his band of dangerous Dark Riders. Having split up on their own individual missions at the end of book 1, the Soul Riders are now in increasing danger. In a desperate act, Anne manages to save her friends by using her newfound magical abilities. Together again, the Soul Riders feel their powers intensify as they work in unison for the first time. The legend awakens as they start their training with the druids and learn who they are and what it means to be a Soul Rider. To truly master their powers they must obtain a book that is kept by the witch Pi who was once an ally to the druids, but now has turned on them. When they return to the druids, they learn that a magical rift has been opened up threatening to destroy Winter Valley and the thousands who live there. Linda has visions of the dark and terrible fate that awaits if the Dark Riders succeed. But worst of all, they realize that they are the ones who caused the rift and have no choice but to ride out together to try and neutralize the threat . . . The Legend Awakens is the second installment in the epic, fantasy trilogy, Soul Riders, about magic, friendship, and horses bound to thrill all young equestrian fans.
For four years, readers of The Herald-Sun newspaper (Durham, NC) enjoyed Phillip Barron's monthly columns on bicycling. The Outspokin' Cyclist gathers some of the best columns together in one volume. With insights into cold-weather bike commuting, urban design, the spiritual solitude of solo mountain biking, and the philosophical problems with drug use in competitive sports, Barron's columns offer glimpses into the life of a cyclist and a small city's biking community. The resulting book will appeal to residents of the Bull City as well as those unlucky enough not to know Durham, to cyclists as well as readers who simply enjoy a good story.
The image of the outlaw biker is widely recognize in North American society. The reality is only known to insiders. To study the phenomenon of outlaw biker clubs, anthropologist Daniel Wolf bridged the gap between image and reality by becoming an insider.
Magic, danger, and adventure abound for messenger Karigan G'ladheon in author Kristen Britain's New York Times-bestselling Green Rider fantasy series • "First-rate fantasy." —Library Journal Karigan G'ladheon was once a Green Rider, one of the king of Sacoridia's elite magical messengers. In the messenger service, she was caught up in a world of deadly danger, and though she defeated the rogue Eletian who cracked the magical D'Yer Wall—which had protected Sacoridia for a thousand years from the dark influence of Blackveil Forest, and Mornhavon the Black's evil spirit imprisoned within it—she had nonetheless been tainted by his wild magic. Exhausted in body and spirit, and determined to take control of her own destiny, Karigan returned to her home in Corsa. But even Karigan's stubborn determination is no match for the Rider's call. Ghostly hoofbeats echo in the deep regions of her mind. When she awakes to find herself on horseback, halfway to Sacor City in her nightgown, she finally gives in. Karigan returns to the court, only to find the Green Riders weakened and diminished. Rider magic has become unreliable, and she herself has ghostly visions of Lil Ambriodhe, First Rider, and founder of the Green Rider corps. But why is the First Rider appearing to Karigan? And will Karigan be able to seek the help of a woman who has been dead for a thousand years?
When Shan was fifteen years old, dark soldiers came out of the west, like a cloud of evil boiling over the soft hills of his homeland. They commanded terrible beasts, which killed with hook claws like scythes and cold eyes that dripped icy fire. The soldiers wore helmets that looked like fiends, tusked and snarling and sneering. The terrible consequences of war have left the boy Shan wounded in body and mind by the invading army of Magravandias. He's taken from his devastated village by the magus Taropat, chosen by the master's mysterious impulse to become the wizard's pupil, and a weapon against the invading empire. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Gillengaria seethes with unrest. In the south, hostility toward magic and its users has risen to a dangerous level, though King Baryn has ordered that such mystics are to be tolerated. It is whispered that he issued the decree because his new wife used her magic powers to ensnare him… The King knows there are those in the noble Twelve Houses who could use this growing dissent to overthrow him. So he dispatches the mystic Senneth to assess the threat throughout the realm. Accompanying her is a motley band of magic-users and warriors including Tayse, first among the King’s Riders—who holds a hard view of mystics in general, and Senneth in particular. But as the unlikely allies venture farther into the south, they will face death in a land under the sway of a fanatical cult that would purge Gillengaria of all magic users. And they will come to realize that their only hope of survival lies in standing together…
Fight a losing battle against impossible odds. Survive. Do it again. Save those you can. For a Night Rider, this is everyday life. Friends are a liability. Riding alone keeps them alive—and lets Night Riders take a guerilla war to the enemy who conquered their country. It’s messy, lonely, and dangerous work...but Shade is a man on a mission. Group of Olorians mistreating his countrymen? No problem. Shade regularly takes on odds others would shy away from. Young, eager, kid who wants to become a Night Rider? Pain in the ass, but he can mold decent raw material. But now he’s being hunted by the very people he’s sworn to protect. A lone Night Rider cannot defeat the enemy when they can turn his own people against him. Shade has never believed in no-win situations, but even the most dangerous man in Evendar can only fight so many battles. Will this be his last? Set in the world of the Legacy, Shade is a prequel to Night Rider.
