Changing Gears: Ups and Downs on the New Zealand Roads

On what initially began as an impulse, Sequoia Schmidt, a native of New Zealand and avid adventurer decides to purchase a ticket to her homeland with the goal of cycling across the country to reconnect with her roots.  Once (somewhat) trained, Sequoia begins her journey and finds that she connects with much more than just the land where she is from.  The people she encounters along her way and the flashbacks of her distorted childhood, paired with the aloneness that can only be had on a solo excursion of self-discovery, lead her to understand much more about herself and her strengths than she realized when she began.  Through the account of her excursion, Sequoia brings the reader into her own mind on her adventure and connects us with the cathartic sensation that occurs when we let go of our need to be surrounded by things and simply live for a moment with only ourselves.