Around the Sun: A Blog About Saving Money in Portland, Oregon, and beyond

8/16 & 8/17: Used Bike Sale at Community Cycling Center

This weekend, August 16 and 17, Community Cycling Center in NE Portland is having a big sale on used bicycles. Prices start at $25.

From the Community Cycling Center website:

Stop by the Community Cycling Center and pick up a reasonably-priced grocery-getter, playa bike, or college cruiser.

Save big on pre-loved, commuter-style bicycles in need of a little tender loving care on Saturday, August 16th and Sunday, August 17th. The majority of these are 21-speed mountain bikes ready for a city commuter conversion.

DIY bicycles will be for sale starting from $25 and our friendly retail staff will help you determine the repairs that each bicycle will require to get “road ready.” Think of it as an everything-must-go yard sale staffed by extremely knowledgeable and helpful bike experts.

Don’t have time to DIY? We would be happy to fix your new-to-you bicycle – we can give you an estimate of labor and repair costs on the spot!

The DIY Oversupply Tent Sale will take place under the canopy behind the Community Cycling Center shop from 10am-7pm both days.

Community Cycling Center
1700 NE Alberta Street
Portland, OR 97211
www.communitycyclingcenter.org

Thanks to altportland for the heads up.
Photo by Zervas

1 comment August 13th, 2008

Legacy Health System Is Selling Bike Helmets for $5

Legacy Health System is hosting several bike helmet sales over the next few months. At these events, helmets of all sizes (toddler to adult) will be sold for $5 each.

The discount is funded by grants from the medical staff at Legacy Emanuel and Good Samaritan Hospitals, Trauma Nurses Talk Tough and the Legacy Foundations.

The next sale is on Friday. Here are the details:

Bike/Skateboard Helmet Sale
6/7/2008
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Sunset Community Bicycle Safety Fair & Clinic
Sunset Presbyterian Church
14986 NW Cornell Road, Portland, OR

To find out about future sales, go to the Legacy website.

Thanks to ReadySetMom for the heads up!

1 comment June 3rd, 2008

TriMet Giving Free Rides on New Year’s Eve

Buses, the MAX and the Portland Streetcar will be free on New Year’s Eve starting at 8:00 pm.

MAX Blue and Yellow Lines will operate until 3:00 am.

For more information, visit the TriMet website.

Have fun and be safe out there!

Thanks Metroblogging Portland for the heads up.

Add comment December 28th, 2007

Downtown MAX stations closed Sept 28–30, shuttles available

From Metroblogging Portland:

MAX downtown will not be running this weekend due to construction on SW 6th avenue by Pioneer Courthouse Square. The Portland Mall project is actually kicking off the outage with another milestone party on Friday night. See, they need to make the cross connections so the north/southbound tracks intersect with the east/westbound tracks. We had a similar weekend in July for the 5th street connections.

So, if you are heading downtown, give yourself some extra time and check out TriMet’s page for route suggestions.

Add comment September 27th, 2007

My New Money-Saving (and Fat-Busting) Game

 I’ve got a new game, which is helping me save money, burn fat, and boost my self-esteem.

A couple of months ago, my company extended a new benefit to employees: free bus passes.

I’ve never been thrilled about taking public transit, because there’s only one bus that comes within a quarter mile of my house. And it runs only once an hour. And it assumes that you have an 8 pm curfew.

But with the free pass and a change in attitude, the world of public transit has completely changed for me. With the weather improving in Portland, I realized that I can and should walk more. What’s more efficient than combining exercise with my commute? So I started to brainstorm major streets and transit centers within a one-mile radius of my house. I thought, I can walk a mile, right?

I found two bus-heavy areas that are about one mile away, and they are easy to walk to. Instantly, my bus options went from a frustrating one to an exciting six!

Now I take my neighborhood bus to work (I still can’t fathom walking a mile first thing in the morning, when I could be sleeping until the last minute) and taking any one of the six options to get home.

And it’s become a game for me to try to figure out where else I can go on the bus. I just found out that my weekend yoga class, for example, is totally doable on the bus. That makes me giddy.

My self-esteem has skyrocketed:

• I feel better about the idea of public transit, since finding out that I have more bus options than I originally thought. I just had to do some creative thinking. Now I don’t have to stress about missing my neighborhood bus and having to wait an hour for the next one. And I can stay late for work or go out to happy hour with friends and still get home on my own.
• It feels great not to have to depend on my car. I save money on gas, wear and tear, and parking. And if there ever came a time when I didn’t have access to a car, I’m confident that I’d be okay.
• I feel less guilty about my impact on the environment.
• I feel great that I’m exercising more. For so long, I’ve been making excuses about why I can’t get to the gym on weekdays. It feels great to walk, and it’s more fun to exercise when the purpose is something other than exercise!
• I appreciate my neighborhood more. When I walk or take the bus, I notice more things around me than I do when driving: the birds, the trees, the houses with their beautiful gardens and quirky lawn ornaments.
• Even though my commute is longer, I feel like I have more time. I can read, write and think better on the bus than when driving. And again, I’m combining my workout with my commute.

I highly recommend exploring the public transportation options in your area. If you are in Portland, TriMet has an amazing website, www.trimet.org, with handy tools to help you plan your commute. Let’s all broaden our transportation options this summer. It’s the perfect time to start!

9 comments June 8th, 2007

Is This Wrong? How to Avoid SmartPark Parking Fee

Portland has a parking garage company called SmartPark. The rates are pretty affordable for night or weekend parking, but weekday rates are similar to other companies.

The upside to SmartPark is that hundreds of stores in Portland validate, each giving you 2 free hours of parking. Buy from 4 different stores and you get 8 hours of free parking or one full work day. This can be handy if you occasionally need to drive into work, rather than using mass transit or other (cheaper) commuter options.

Now, I’m curious what you all think. Do you feel it’s okay to buy something just to get the validation and then return the item?

Of course, the act of buying and then returning takes precious time out of your life. Do you feel it’s even worth it to do this?

Add comment May 25th, 2007

Right Turn, Right Idea

A couple of days ago, I saw a news report on how UPS saves time, money and gas by avoiding left turns.

The company knows that left turns take more time and fuel than right turns, due to waiting at stop lights. And time + gas = money. 

According to the report, “UPS trucks drove 2.5 billion miles last year, but the company says its package flow technology combined with right-turn routes saved 28,541,472 million miles, and three million gallons of fuel.”

The UPS story affirms some of my tips for saving time and money on driving trips:

• Plan trips in advance. When you need to run out to the store, think about what else you can do while you’re out.
• Clump destinations by area. Do everything you can in a specific area, then move on to another area. Avoid going back and forth.
• Stick to one side of the street and hit destinations in order from closest to farthest. Look at all those right turns you’d make.
• If you have a choice, choose a destination that’s on the side of the street that you’re already on. For example, if you need a cup of coffee, do you have to go to the Starbucks across the street, or is there another one on your side of the street? Chances are there is!

You can read the full report on UPS at the ABC News website: http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=3005890&page=1 

3 comments April 4th, 2007