It's about time we had some sunshine. I know it's cliche to whine about the weather in Seattle, but ughhhh.

With the trustworthy folks at Weather Underground calling for warm, sunny skies this weekend, your excuses for staying in are almost nonexistent.

If you're not jumping on the soccer bandwagon (the USA vs. UK), there are plenty of great bike events to occupy your sun-filled time.

Saturday

Flying Wheels Century, Marymoor Park, 7:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., $30. Billed as a "checkout" ride for Seattle-to-Portland, Cascade Bicycle Club's annual Flying Wheels fundraiser century starts and ends at Marymoor Park in Redmond with a 100-mile loop of the rural Puget Sound region in between. For those of you less inclined to ride 100-miles, there are 25-, 45-, and 65-mile options as well.

Arguably, I should be doing Flying Wheels to prepare for STP, but my heart belongs to another event on Saturday.


Cyclocross. Photo from Flickr user ryandudek .



Baron Bicycles Cyclocross Ride, Revolutions Espresso (7012 Woodlawn Ave N), 11:30 a.m., Free . Geoff Casey, the man behind local bike company Baron Bicycles, has put together a weekly cyclocross-style ride through Seattle. Starting tomorrow and continuing each Saturday through the summer. All bikes and skill levels are welcome.

Cyclocross is a hybrid of road and mountain biking done on road bikes with wider, knobby tires. Races are held in the fall on looping courses of grass, gravel, mud, and pavement. It's the most fun a person can have while simultaneously suffering. I've been getting excited (and spending too much time watching race videos on youtube) about cross season since the SSCXWC details were announced. The Baron ride should help scratch that itch.

Tacoma Twilight Criterium, Downtown Tacoma, 3:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Free for spectators.  The final race in the 6-part Cascadia Criterium series. The Tacoma Twilight crit obviously isn't quite as convenient as the Ballard or Fremont races these past few weekends, but if you're looking for something fun to do tomorrow evening, spectating at a crit race is great. Riders race around a short loop for anywhere between 30-75 minutes. The racing is fast, close, and exciting. If schadenfreude is your thing, there are almost always crashes.

Sunday

Bike Sabbath, Fremont Coffee, Noon, Free.  A friendly, casual-paced group ride. Leave the spandex at home. Riders gather at noon at Fremont Coffee and head out at 12:30. The ride always has a destination or theme (like putt-putt golf or a cake and ice cream hunt). More info can be found on the Bike Sabbath Facebook page.