Ok, I found a trunk bike rack that possibly fit my car, but I didn’t trust that it was stable enough and it only had 1yr warranty, needless to say, I never put my bike on it and returned it. I wanted a car bike rack that would be sturdy, easy for me to set up by myself, and did not have to worry about disconnecting every time I use it. So, I decided to go with a hitch-mounted bike rack.
As I stated previously, my car did not come with a hitch. I started shopping for places & prices of hitch installations. I was glad that one salesperson at a bike shop referred me to Uhaul, it was the least expensive price quote.

I went Sunday after church to Torrance CA to get the hitch installed on my 2000 Nissan. Why Torrance CA? Because all Uhauls in OC were out of stock. Of course I was too impatient to wait a week for them to get it delivered.  From the Uhaul store I went to REI to purchase my bike rack… 1) b/c  I like the REI membership program and 2) they were available to install my carrier for me same day (for add’l charge) and instruct me on how to uninstall when I need to. Each time I visited the REI  Store(Huntington Beach CA) , the staff have always shown patience, been very pleasant and helpful.

I chose the hanging bike rack style b/c the platform/track styles seemed too bulky for my car. My favorite choices for hitch-mounted racks were the Yakima (Double Down2) & the Thule (Roadway). Both brands come w/ unlimited lifetime warranties. Even though Thule rack was most compact, I still chose Yakima over Thule and other brands b/c it looked neater & sturdier and it has the add’l “no sway” feature.
The cost of the carrier was same at all stores who sell Yakima products.

 I can now say that I am a happy camper b/c I can just load my bike onto the carrier, lock it down and go, as oppposed to taking the front wheel off and stuffing my bike in the back seat area of my car. Once I unload my bike, the arms of the carrier bend down when not in use.

I am excited and look forward to taking my bike with me whether traveling by train or car for mini-weekend vacations and daytrips within CA.

[Con't of I'm Excited-pt1]

The adjustment to being a Biker Today,etc
      Ok, the other part of this story is that I don’t remember having bike lanes where I grew up in St. Louis. We rode in the street and on the sidewalks. When I first got California, I was like what’s up with these bike lanes? It has taken me some time now to get use to it. I have come to realize that I must familiarize myself with CA laws/regulations for “biking”. Needless to say, I will play it safe and stay on the bike paths/trails and beach, until I have it down. Riding in the cities of CA is not the same as riding in the streets of a tourisy area  (ie…Santa Barbara).

Dressing up my bike
     I purchased a helmet, my mom seems to think I need elbow and knee pads. lol.
I have a lock, portable airpump, and have started dressing my bike with a bell, bike odometer,etc and bike tag that says “Jesus Loves Me”.  Things still on my list to get include gloves and basket. I also have yet to find a name for it. My youngest sister told me today that she is sure there is a support group for me and my bike. I explained to her that these were some of the basic necessities now.
   My car did not come w/ a hitch, so I am still in search of a bike rack to fit my Nissan Altima. Even though the “books” says yes to all of the popular namebrand racks.  We have tried 3 thus far that did not fit. Got a 4th one I will try to work w/ tomorow.  My bike is too big to fit in my trunk so I have to take the wheel off and fit it in my back seat area of my car. This takes patience and can get old real soon.

In the long run my bike investment will have served multiple purposes (recreational,social and fitness).
My goal is to get to the point where I feel confident enough riding in the street, to eventually ride from home to work. (That would be economical)
I will keep you guys posted. 

This is the end of my bike story for now.
Thanks for reading.
jc
{”I am Excited-Part1“}

Hello all,
     I have a couple of things I am excited about, 1) I purchased a bike this past weekend  and 2) I have kicked my exercise routine into high gear….that means that I am doing more than just walking again. I will tell you more about my health/fitness plan at a later time. 
For now, I would like to share my bike story with you.

My Bike-riding History
     Well, after the tricycle,  I know there was a training wheel stage and several bikes for me, but I don’t remember all of them. There is one green bicycle that sticks out in my mind only b/c I was so excited to get it that I fell down a flight of steps trying to show it to my cousin. Each bike that I had after that was either found at a garage sale, or was set out for trash and my dad bought parts and put them together. So you can imagine, some of them were very colorful and unique looking. Yet, my sister, brother and I made the best of those times on our bikes. When it came to 10-speed bikes, I wasn’t fond of them after the first time i hit my private part on that straight bar and I never liked riding with my back hunched over. 
      Past high school into an adult, I’ve always had the privilege of riding family/friends bikes whenever I could. And I have been notorious this past decade for renting cruisers at the beach.
So, to say that I am excited about having my own bike is putting it mildly.
My Bike Shopping Exursion
      It is funny how after shopping and testing out a variety of bikes within this past year, there was only one brand/style bike (Trek womens 7100) that I liked and wanted b/c it was sized right for my long legs and was comfortable to ride. That is until I tried one of the Women Townie Electras which surprisingly accommodated my long legs also and was comfortable. However, the Trek 7100 outbeat it in comfortness. There was no difference in the price of the Trek this year than it was last year; only this time I was ready to fork out the money for what I wanted.
      After hearing about the adventures I want to take w my bike, the salesperson suggested that the Trek would probably be the better bike for me. I took his word for it, b/c even though I had previously done some comparisons on some bikes, I had never compared the specifications of Townie with Trek. I do know that Trek is known for its quality and longevity and I hope that the Trek bike I purchased proves it’s repitation to be true.
       I’ve had the chance to take my new bike to the park and beach thus far, and received quite a few unexpected compliments. It feels great owning something you have wanted for a long time, and  knowing that you have made a great choice.
jc
{“I am Excited–part2″}

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You may ask, What is Breast Cancer Awareness?
One aspect, is making women aware that Breast Cancer is real, and it do not have an age limit.  It has been reported in young women as well as the older women. View the news video about a 20yr old woman in Florida diagnosed with breast cancer:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26902429/ 

Breast Cancer awareness is also about getting the word out to every female, the importance of early detection.  You can actively participate in this process by doing routine self breast exams every month starting at age 18.  Then you add professional breast exam checks by the physician annually. By age 40 it is recommended that you start getting mammograms annually in addition to the self breast exam and physician physical exams.

Well, since I hit the magic number last year, I decided to get my mammogram a couple of weeks ago. Notice, I said decided. I knew I should have started last year, but remembered how painful it was for me approx 20 yrs ago when my gynecologist recommended that I get one after finding fibrocystic breast changes on a physical exam. Then, I considered which would I rather experience…..pain from mammogram or pain from learning that I have breast cancer later in life…AND….deal with the pain from knowing that I passed up the opportunity for early detection, early treatment and  chance of better prognosis. 

So, I finally went to get it done. I must say, I did not have big boobs then and I still don’t have big boobs, but the test did not hurt as bad this time. My technician was pleasant, patient and explained things to me, which helped me to relax. I was not as intimidated by the machine and it wasn’t as cold. Don’t know all the differences in the equipment but you know there have been major improvements in technology over the years and that is a plus.

It is true that some breast cancers have been missed on mammograms, and there are controversies about the safety of mammograms, especially when continued after breast cancer diagnosis for purposes of monitoring it and evaluating treatment.

But just like there are alternatives to medications, surgeries and treatments….there is talk of alternatives to mammograms. Now you must do your own research on it…because I have not.

For resources that contain information specific to breast cancer facts, statistics and latest research studies visit my website….. www.independentrnservices.com/breastca.htm  

ADD’l INFO:

• If you are interested in finding out.. if women who have had hysterectomy should continue having Pap Smears…visit: http://jcmultibiz.blogspot.com/2008/10/this-is-for-ladiespap-smears-after.html
  
• The following are a couple of resources for cancer in general.

          www.nci.nih.gov        
         http://www.canceradvocacy.org/   
         www.oncolink.upenn.edu

Since breast cancer awareness is a national effort, look for events in your local area these next couple of weeks. Some of the states like CA  events will spill over into Nov.
Have you heard the quote “Knowledge is Power”?
Well, life is also “Full of Choices”, hope you make the right one about breast cancer screenings. 

Well this is all for now. Be safe, until next time….
–jc

Hello world,
I was going to use the greeting hello “Ladies” but I think “world” is better…..just in case men are reading these blogs also.  Well as an introduction, My name is Jacqueline (bka) “JC “or ”beautynoc”.  As I have other blogs that I post to….(blogger.com, myspace, yuwie, ultimate nurses, nurseslink, blackplanet, yahoo360, apsense) …… this is my first digital-women post and first time using wordpress. I look forward to writing and sharing things with you and hopefully you will find what I post interesting and/or useful in your everyday life…(whether its business or personal). However, most of my writings can be found at www.jcmultibiz.blogspot.com .

For those women who are members of DW, I wish you all much success in your businesses and hope that you have found DW to be as valuable as I have. I am glad to be a member and give Ms. Rebecca(owner) much props. We finally have a blog—YEAH!!!!

This is all for now…

jc