Freewheeling Kiwi Origin Story

Like many thousands of followers across the world, you may identify me as Sharon, the Freewheeling Kiwi however I led a very different life prior to being the adventurous, outdoors person that you follow today. 

In this deeply personal blog I share with you some of the circumstances that led me to change careers in midlife, why I quit corporate life altogether and the epiphany that morphed into the Freewheeling Kiwi.

I know how difficult it is to welcome change but having successfully navigated some of life’s largest transitions, sometimes, the grass really is greener on the other side. 

By sharing my story, I hope to provide you with the courage and inspiration to embrace the inevitable changes in your own life. 

In my early 50’s I was living the life of a typical corporate over-achiever in a challenging yet fulfilling role as a rural real estate agent. The commission based nature of sales kept me on the treadmill and glued to "the system" with very little time off. Caught up in the culture that celebrates “busyness”, I didn’t recognise this as a problem nor how unhealthy it is. If you’d asked me then about my career, I’d have said that I loved it and planned to continue in this role forever.

I’d entered the real estate profession in my mid thirties and with my twentieth anniversary approaching, I realised that despite having a successful career and working with many wonderful people, it was no longer the reality I wanted to live, nor the ladder I wanted to climb. 

I found as my values changed, I was no longer prepared to live with the chronic stress brought about by circumstances outside of my control.

I’d navigated some huge life changes in the preceding years; as is normal, my two sons had developed independence and moved out, the marriage I’d entered in my early 20’s had ended and with it, connections to a larger family circle. As a consequence to the relationship ending, I’d moved homes and locations more than once. 

On the surface I was a highly functioning individual, but like the swan, I was paddling like made simply to keep my emotions in check and my life afloat. As a mum, I wanted to protect my family from the collateral damage caused by the marriage break down and worked hard despite the difficulties to "keep up appearances".

Although I’d earlier travelled, moved and worked in different countries by myself, I’d always ended up living with others and I now had to adapt to living on my own. Additionally, menopause had arrived with all the physical and emotional changes that it brings about. 

Life’s got quite a way of throwing curve balls at you and around that time, I started to struggle with anxiety and panic attacks. 

With the benefit of hindsight I now recognise that I was burnt out on multiple fronts. This was hardly surprising given the professional responsibility I carried, the seven day a week job, and grappling with the huge financial stressors that come with a commission based role and dissolution of a marriage. Added to that was the emotional turmoil caused by spinning too many plates for way too long.

There were many dark moments when I’d ask myself what was the lesson I was meant to be learning. The statement "difficulties come when you need them" suggests that hardships and challenges often emerge at times when we are most prepared to learn and grow. While I may not have felt prepared, I was more than ready to learn and grow.

I’ve since learnt that the free fall in the hormone estrogen brought about by menopause is a significant trigger for anxiety but at the time, I didn’t have a clue and simply wondered what on earth was “wrong” with me.

My anxiety and panic attacks peaked while driving however I’d found a way to successfully adapt., that is, I simply avoided any unnecessary driving! This was blatantly not a long term solution and particularly for a rural real estate agent who needed to be driving up farm driveways daily. 

Such was my stress and anxiety that on a particularly difficult day, I’d had to pull over half a dozen times during my normal half hour drive to my office. When I’d finally arrived I’d almost fainted and it was crazy to think that I’d even been driving.

Struggling along on my own, it took me way to long to realise that major lifestyle changes were necessary and I continued to burn the candle at both ends running on a toxic cocktail of cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline.

My need for independence could also be interpreted as a fear of being a burden on others but finally it became clear even to me that I had to take some drastic action.

I slowly stepped back from my real estate career and started to reconstruct my life, I learnt to say no, took time off, started planning long weekends away and even an annual holiday. While these may seem normal activities to many people, as a self-employed person, it was not something I’d done in many many years. 

I embraced a daily practice of journaling, meditation and yoga though accepted that if I missed a day (or three), it didn’t matter and to just pick up where I’d left off.

One of my constants during this period of transition was track riding at the Cambridge Velodrome. From being extremely apprehensive when I first started learning the skills of track riding, I’d gone on to successfully taken part in the 2017 World Masters Games which coincided with my 50th birthday. 

There’s incredible variety in track riding with many skills to be learnt and with any of the team races, you have to step up or let your mates down. Entering the team races forced me to be accountable and gain the relevant skills. Over the decade that I rode track it wasn’t the racing so much that appealed as the sense of community formed particularly by our early morning "Flyday" riders.

There was a lake near where I’d moved to and while still stuck in the holding pattern as I waited to see where the relationship finances landed, I’d tracked down a cheap second hand kayak. While I hadn’t planned on that move to the lake and with limited resources, I figured I’d best make the most of what was available locally. 

Getting the kayak also entailed buying roof racks and the kayak was chosen largely due to it’s weight as I’d have to lift it up onto the roof of my car. I’m not tall and my car was comparatively high so I had to work out a system to manoeuvre it up and strap it down securely. Once at the lake I gradually increased my skills and confidence to move further from the shore.

I’ve always believed that the magic happens when we step outside of our comfort zone and no matter how hard, I purposely found ways to push myself and to be uncomfortable so that I’d grow. 

During this period of major life transition, I continued to find driving very challenging and as I pulled out of the garage for my first big solo roady, though determined, my hands were shaking and I felt sick to my core. 

Before that trip I’d bought new camping gear which included a tent large enough to stand up in and I’d even had a trial run at home to assure myself that I could pitch it successfully.  The motive behind the trip was to spend time alone in nature and the last thing I wanted was to be reliant on someone else (a stranger) to help me put up the tent.

That’s how I came to find myself solo camped on the shores of the beautiful Lake Waikaremoana, watching in awe at the energy and beauty of a storm rolling across the far side of the lake. It was towards the end of my holiday which for me at that time was a massive accomplishment. 

I’d driven many hundreds of miles, pitched my tent multiple time, hiked up huge mountains and biked along wild coastlines. I’d done what I’d set out to do and the confidence boost was enormous.

While watching the storm, I reflected on my life and how I’d ended up sitting alone beside the lake. I’m a great believer that we are where we are because of the choices we’ve made and while there’s things outside of our control, we always have a choice as to how we respond to them.

I’d made many changes all of which took great courage and many times I’d had to dig really deep. The thing is though, we’re all a lot stronger than we think we are and it takes challenges to find that depth and to develop into the person we’re meant to be. 

The surrounding beauty was mesmerising, the sun on the lake in the foreground, the native forest sweeping down to the seemingly bottomless water and the rolling stormy clouds over the distant Panekire Bluff.

As I sat beside my tent I felt a mixture of emotions, relief at having figuratively made it so far and peace in the beautiful setting. But underlying my own “feel good” emotions were feelings of injustice and frustration. 

Injustice; for other women that due to circumstances perhaps beyond their control, they don’t get to experience the healing benefits of nature. 

Frustration; knowing so well the significant physical, mental and emotional benefits that spending time in nature brings, should someone to be prevented from experiencing it is simply wrong.

If someone like me with a lifetime of adventuring in the outdoors and easily adapting to change could completely lose my direction and confidence, how would it be for someone else without that background? How would they find their way to what is the least prescribed but best medicine available?

I knew intuitively that there’d be other women just like me - maybe just like you - who would be facing major life changes perhaps beyond their control and it was at that moment that the dream of the Freewheeling Kiwi was created.

For anyone unfamiliar with a track bike, unlike other bikes, there’s no gears nor brakes and the pedals are fixed meaning they rotate constantly. If you’ve ever ridden a normal bike, you’ll know that once you get to the top of the hill you can "freewheel" down the other side. That is, stop peddling and simply coast along on the momentum you’ve already created.

There’s no way to freewheel on a track bike and as I reflected on my lifestyle, this came to represent what I had been doing for years. Caught up on the corporate hamster wheel and spinning away like mad.

So it was with tongue in cheek that I settled on "Freewheeling Kiwi" as my brand as the "freewheeling" characterised the direct opposite of what I’d been doing for way too long but how I planned to move forward.

Having successfully experienced and navigated complex transitions which included career, relationships, health and well being I have a deep passion for helping other women - just like you - to reconnect with themselves, with nature and to live a thriving life.

After personally experiencing huge lifestyle changes, I know how it feels to be in the midst of those changes but more importantly, I have since experienced how incredible life is on the other side.

And so began my next chapter, this time, as an adventurer, with a mission to share a message of inspiration, courage, positivity and independence. 

Are you ready to make some changes, what’s holding you back? Share your biggest challenge in the comments below. None of us are alone and together we can support each other.