What Must Be Done, Can Be

"What Must be Done, Can Be" fortune cookie wisdom

Hi all! Had a great last day that successfully distracted me from any last minute nerves before leaving for Mongolia. Took Napoleon out with a visiting friend, had a great swim in Waccabuc Lake, lots of delicious coffee (won't get that for awhile), watched Hidalgo and generally chilled out. I've been overcome with a poison ivy rash... It must have been from last weekend's ride when Napoleon lost both front shoes and I ended up walking back from Vail (a long way)! My wonderful doctor mom called in prednisone and I've been trying very hard not to itch! Good to get some bad luck out of the way before leaving :).

I spent most free moments yesterday looking for my rock tape which decided it did not want to go to Mongolia (the only thing that calmed me down was a lil mediation and mantra courtesy of Jess' going away Peking Duck House dinner in Chinatown - what must be done, can be... Fortune cookie gold). While at drinks at the Farmer and the Fish, Tarmi and Robin saved the day and donated their stash of rock tape to my Mongolian efforts! Now I'm off via Beijing rocking out to my Mongol Derby Game Face playlist (yeah I have one.).

I mentioned already that one of my favorite things is that I'm literally head to toe dressed in items given to me by my wonderful crew! - Socks from Jade (the same ones she wore last year in her Derby) and boots she found for me at a tent sale! - Rackers Wear pants from Marzena - Seamless underwear from Kim C - Laurence's Masai wrist ring (since for the last 3 years I have always worn something from Kenya, this was a truly lovely gift) - Bionic gloves from Chris - Compass from Kennedy (and all my map skillz) - Rock tape from Tarmi and Robin! - Throat singing tunes in my heart from Ann

And my ticket to ride (well to get myself there!) from my mom and dad. These days my mom calls me her crazy girl... Guess that is a bit true!

You guys all rock. And all those who have been so supportive and lovely - honestly it has been overwhelming, wonderful, awesome and I am so so grateful. Namaste.

It's All About the Gear...

Hello world! It's been another crazy week in private equity here in the Big Apple. Every once in awhile I get to jump on some jet and travel to interesting places with my work team - traveling with them is always an experience. But to be sure, even fun late nights at work mean my whole "two weeks until the Derby" training regime has been thrown off. Oh well, such is life. Is anyone appreciating my song titles? Geeze. I have been focused on completing my kit and so I thought I would do a Gear Post! The list is exhaustive, the picture, less so.


I am also tracking weight for all of the above and have a way of prioritizing which items must come and which ones I could ditch. Since I don't have my saddle bags (as a late entrant) I will have to practice packing when I'm in Mongolia. So all you derbyists who can pack in 0.259 seconds stop it!! or at least stop posting about it, ya'll are freaking me out! Also to be clear, while Viggo of Hilalgo fame won't actually be accompanying me on the Derby, he will be in my heart. I am saving re-watching it until next week when I need my extra burst of... "this is going to be the most fun and amazing trip of you life" kind of feeling in my heart.

OK, first things first: my saddle! So I've been using my friend's old saddle to practice in, no it's not an endurance saddle, because, and this may become apparent on the very first leg of the derby... I have never actually done an endurance race! Not one! I've ridden in an endurance saddle once and it was lovely. But yeah, so yeah. Yeah. Regardless, I have tired out a couple "seat savers" (a new pc of gear to me) and landed on this enormous black hide thing that is made for an endurance saddle. It makes me feel like I grabbed one of my goat hides off the couch and threw it on a bareback mustang and took off! Ok, so I read a lot of romance novels so perhaps that's coloring my description. It's peachy. I could also use it as a pillow it's so comfy. I also have these enormous endurance stirrups (whatever, they are also comfy) and fenders (just like my western saddle!) and stirrup turners since I read something from a past year rider about her stirrups not hanging right and am trying to avoid that pain!


Next up, a million random pcs of gear, again pic doesn't have everything. I can tell you FOR SURE that my ADAY bra (who says I can't look like a yogi on the steppe) isn't in there, and my sunglasses are... somewhere at the barn and I must find them. It does have my two pairs of Rackers endurance tights (and I know a lot of folks are going to want them after this whole thing is done bc they are the most awesome pants!) and my Bionic gloves which are rad beyond. What's awesome is that this picture does include the amazing care package that I just received from one of the best gals I know, my ranch hand buddy from WAY way back when, Kim "Skinny" Castelin. She is a brave adventurer in her own right and very thoughtfully sent me a pair of seamless undies (I'm becoming quite the expert on seamless underwear) and a waterproof notepad which was literally on my list! will be lovely to write down thoughts but also the days notes for directions and the like. Thanks girl. Your note made my night, lucky spurs are packed. I also have a little good luck in my much ligher masai bracelet from LAG who obviously can read my mind. My old bracelet (that I've worn in wedding to board meetings) from my last trip to Kenya with Offbeat Safaris in Sep 2012 recently fell apart :( Loved it too much I guess, but no worries be back Sept 2016 and get a new one! So happy to have this little charm to wear. Thank you ladies, you both rock.

Also my awesome but ghetto garmin holster (I am a cowgirl at heart) is all set. See pic, any questions? Class dismissed.


As a New Yorker, gotta have my name brands so I have loads of Pata-gucci coming with me. My general bag for the trip and my Start / finish bag. OK, since I was private jetting around yesterday... I'm off to ride. I seriously love gear questions, any Derbyists doing something totally different and feel they should help me by explaining why I'm crazy for doing xyz??


Ok, so as soon as I finish this pricing analysis and model update, I'm off to go ride. As long as work doesn't interfere!! xxo love to all.

Eye of The Tiger

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delayed update, I was on a great training roll and then had a busy week at work followed by a bachelorette weekend in North Carolina! So I gained 5 pounds, rode one half-awake trail horse for 15 min and generally forgot all my GPS training (ok, only some of those things are true, Garmin came with me and I had some good studying time).



So back on it this week, budgeting in time for resting up before I leave, I figure I have 15 days to finalize everything. This week I’m setting various waypoints around Baxter (where I ride every morning) and will be practicing navigating the paths. I’ve boiled down GPS strategy to the outline below: 1. Waypoints – the folks in charge of the Derby will give us WPs (specific location / coordinates) for things like checkpoints and potentially interim points between checkpoints. If there are key interim waypoints I can get from training, all the better because you can create routes, save them and use them (kind of like tracks) to navigate a more specific path towards a key WP. If you do this you have all sorts of nifty measures that help you stay on track 2. Tracks – tracks might be downloaded onto our Garmins for particularly tricky bits (when the chiefs want you to follow a very specific path to avoid, you know, a whole lotta trouble). Every time your Garmin is on, you also create a track so you can see where you’ve been, and you might choose to save it and track back (if you’ve gotten yourself hopelessly lost or into a bit of trouble). There are loads of helpful screens (Map, Compass and Trip Computer) that give you loads of info about the best path forward.


I am still trying to get my grubby hands on a good topo of Mongolia. How is it that this map is so hard to come by?? Oh, ok, maybe I can understand why there isn’t a huge demand for detailed Mongolian topos…

So, it’s really two weeks out from departure and I’m admittedly feeling a bit overwhelmed… but so long as I can get two weeks of healthy eating, good workouts (lots of yoga), rides every day and some serious GPS work… I should be fine. Saturday I have a gear blog I’ve been working on since I believe I’ve finalized my gear and packing stuff… and will weigh everything in as well. I’ve also begun work on the important “Mongol Derby 2015 Game Face Playlist” - Lose Yourself – Eminem - Empire State of Mind – JAY Z - Eye of the Tiger – Survivor - The Middle – Jimmy Eat World - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gayw - ‘Till I Collapse – Eminem - I Will Not Bow – Breaking Benjamin - We Will Rock You – Queen - Remember the Name – Fort Minor - Heart of a Champion – Nelly - Not Afraid – Eminem - Good Horses – Ondar - Harness Your Horse and Catch the Wind – Ondar Any additions? xxo


Let Your Dreams Stay Big and Your Worries Stay Small

On my mind this week:

1. My Mom and Dad. Last Sunday was Father's Day (he's in Colorado, I'm in NY) and a few days before he was in a bike accident. Glad my mom and sister are in Boulder taking care of him. Scary moment. Please be more careful Dad! Also, my mom who is ever protective but has always allowed us our independence and who, despite being highly skeptical of the crazy of the Derby, has allowed me to steal a huge portion of her miles to purchase my ticket for Mongolia. I truly have the most wonderful and objectively awesome parents. I am so grateful for them.

2. I'm giving up coffee. If you know me, this is a big deal. I don't think I've skipped a cup of coffee in years since way before I was a wee investment banker on Wall Street! But, no coffee on the steppe and I don't want to miss it (like headache miss it) so last Wednesday was my last day of coffee (I'm allowing myself decaf for the next two weeks to wean myself).

3. My kit and pack are assembled. I treated my Ariat boots with water repellent and plan to wear them. Into and all over Manhattan. Everyday.

Had a nice weekend, tons of riding (in the rain) in all my gear and got 5th (too slow by far!) in the Golden's Bridge Hounds pace. I weighed myself this morning and I'm ~155 so the goal in the next three weeks is to drop 5 but build / maintain muscle.

I'm also working on changing my eating habits in terms of timing with this strategy in mind. I don't really get hungry first thing in the morning, I'm up riding from about 530 until 7am then jump on a train into the city so I don't really have food in my stomach until 930/10am. Same thing when I practice Ashtanga when I practice in the morning. So, as my awesome ultra marathoner friend counseled me... don't do anything new on race day (or race week!). So, I plan to potentially have a little something before the first leg of the day and then have a larger meal around 10am/ lunch and hope that lasts me until near evening (with snatched biscuits from the checkpoint along the way!). Of course, this all depends on my ability to successfully navigate to the checkpoints so as backup, bringing beef jerky in my pack.

I am alternately riding these little quarter horses in the morning with Napoleon, trying to get on as many different horses as possible... which isn't terribly easy.



Keep on Keeping On!

Because the days are passing and the one month mark until I leave for Mongolia is rapidly approaching, I have been riding every morning, toiling for long hours at work and trying to squeeze in yoga and cardio in between. This past weekend I was able to visit 2014 Derby veterans Jade and Bonnie at After The Races, a super cool organization in Nottingham, PA. Check them out: http://aftertheraces.org/

I spent as much time grilling these two ladies as humanely possible! We covered everything from the best helmet, all the meds and when to take them (at the first rumble of your stomach!) and how to prevent chafing and rubs in tender spots (rock tape and body glide are your best friends). And what to do when you sink into a bog and find the bog substance down your pants, well cowgirl up and cut those underwear off. Jade's derby was epic in many ways!

We went for a lovely trail ride and I got to ride Giaco Khan, a truly wonderful 5 year old retired race horse who despite not having been ridden in 9 months was lovely.


And Jade showed me her world!


Then I was quickly back to NY for a couple rainy training rides with my training buddy Tarmi. I think by the end of the week I will have my kit next to completed and will be able to consistently ride in it when I go out in the mornings! And once that is all set, I'm back to figuring out navigation as best I can, I'm rubbish at directions so have to get focused and learn the ropes.


I'm adding back lots of yoga into my accelerated training program both for core / overall strength as well as the mental aspects. Last night was able to attend Domenic's class... which was amazing (ly hard) and so lovely to see my yoga gurls. Love you guys and appreciate all your support and good vibes.

So ride, ride, ride, throw a party, pace, navigate, do yoga, eat NYC street meat, do big deals. Busy busy busy. Next post coming Friday!

Abhyasa vairagyabhyam tan nirodhah: Practice and Non-Attachment

It's been a very busy week! On top of long hours at work preparing for a London board meeting, I have been up and out riding in the fields of Baxter Preserve every morning by 530AM! (ok, so this morning it was more like 540 and only thanks to Chris and Tarmi texting me wondering why I wasn't at the barn yet! I get by with a little help from my friends :)

So perhaps you're wondering about the title of my blog post? It's Yoga Sutra 1.12 which discusses abhyasa (practice which is regularly and consistently observed over a long period of time) and vairagya which is essentially letting go, non-attachment. So dedicate yourself, be a devoted student but don't hold on too tightly to a pose, a thought, a belief. Practice letting go as well as dedication. There is a a balance to all things.

Rides have been going well and last weekend I was able to get on my first true endurance horse thanks to Marzena who is the founder of my first sponsoring company! She took me out on her feisty Colorado Mountain Horse, Daisy and we had a blast. I am wearing her endurance tights in the Derby and they are truly awesome and its turns out good for a little yoga on the steppe too http://rackerswear.com/

I am quickly assembling my kit, the first items includes:

1. Tipperary vest - So I've never worn a vest riding before... but Derby veterans suggested it just in case (you know what) and to prevent backpack straps from rubbing. 2. Fender stirrup leathers 3. Tipperary helmet 4. Gloves (I also don't usually ride in gloves but will obviously need to get used to them!) 5. Stirrups 6. Backpack

I will be riding in all my gear starting next week in the mornings and getting used to my kit. Hoping my goodie package from The Adventurists arrives soon so I can practice packing my saddle bag! Off to visit Jade (my own Mongol Derby veteran) this weekend for some new horses, advice grilling, maybe a little yoga and wine, wine, wine.

Check out my instagram for more pictures and updates: https://instagram.com/sara_does_yoga/



“Never Fear Quarrels, but Seek Hazardous Adventures”

Hello! I thought I'd use my first post to introduce myself and how I managed to sneak a last minute invitation to be a 2015 Mongol Derby rider with 6 weeks to train, prepare and fundraise!

I was spending the weekend in Aspen, Colorado when I heard that three riders in this year's derby were forced to drop out due to medical issues and they (The Adventurist team) were looking for a few crazy folks who would jump on board last minute... and that's me. So, my rationalizations: 1. I had tried to sign up for the 2015 ride awhile back but it was full (so this isn't an idea I just had) 2. August is quiet in the finance world, maybe my work won't miss me as much as they otherwise might? 3. I already ride a couple times a week and have the ability to ride every day before work and even more on the weekends 4. I do a lot of yoga, so my foundation fitness is adequate to build on to derby level for the next 6 weeks (or so I'm telling myself!) 5. Probably #1 I have an amazing derby veteran mentor in Jade Sevelow-Lee, just about the most badass gal I've every met 6. When crazy opportunities fall in your lap, well you either jump on them or you make excuses not to take them. No excuses, jumping in

Since I'm so brand-spanking new to the field, my rider bio isn't even up yet (officially the underdog here!) so here it the raw text, will link up as soon as its live!

Sara Klymkowsky, 29, USA Riding Experience: Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, Sara began riding with her older sister when she was three years old. She spent many years riding western and a couple of summers as a ranch hand in a working cattle ranch. After moving to the Big Apple, Sara started riding English in anticipation of a riding safari in Kenya and never looked back. Now she lives outside the city and grabs a morning gallop before work in the fields around her home, started jumping a year ago, and participates in paces and trail rides. Sara just finished her first season with the Golden’s Bridge Hunt in North Salem, New York. Outdoor/Survival Experience: Sara has combined her love of the outdoors with her riding obsession by taking riding and backpacking trips all over the world. Constantly seeking a new adventure, Sara has been backpacking in Alaska, spent time hiking and backpacking the Rocky Mountains, explored Kenya and ridden in Patagonia; she is always up for a new challenge and eager for the excitement of the Mongol Derby. Why the Mongol Derby? “The Mongol Derby is the ultimate test of riding ability, mental and physical endurance combined with incredibly beautiful scenery and people. Riding, adventure, new people and cultures, a chance to test myself, and a chance to see a place that few have the opportunity to see. When the experience of a lifetime comes along, even with only eight weeks to train and prepare, you just have to take it!"

By the way, this is me and my boy Napoleon, pic taken by the ultra-talented Laurence Anne Guillem.

Next post will be up Wednesday with a training update and the introduction of my first sponsor!