If you are ready to suit up, there is a whole lot of racing going on this week. In addition to the old standby Driveway Crits, the twice monthly RunFar Time Trial, and the return of the Dirt Derby, the Tour of Austin cranks up with some serious road racing all holiday weekend.

Here’s a quick run down of recommended events for the coming week from our comprehensive calendar of all cycling events. Thanks to Jason at ATXBS for letting us know about some events we couldn’t find elsewhere. As always, if there is an event you know about that’s not on our calendar contact us, and we’ll add your event on and possibly add it to the weekly round up.

Saturday, September 5

Tour of Austin: Manda Shootout Road Race
8 AM, Corner of Manda Carlson and New Sweden Church Rd, Manda, TX
The first day of the Tour of Austin, this course northeast of Austin consists of a 12.75 mile loop on county roads with long false flats and a handful of  small rollers. Cat 1 race at 64 miles to Cat 4/5 Juniors at 13 miles. Discounted registration for all three races in the Tour of Austin. Winners receive Podium Mustache!

Mellow Johnny’s Scout-A-Ride Shop Road Ride: From Mellow’s to New Nelo’s
8:30 AM, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, 400 Nueces St
Saturday mornings spent exploring City of Austin bike routes finding new neighborhoods and ways to get around on your bike. This week’s theme is From Mellow’s to New Nelo’s. Head north of downtown via the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, Exposition Blvd, Shoal Creek and Far West Blvd with a stop at Nelo’s Pro Cycles new location on Mesa then loop back south via Steck, Woodrow and the Shoal Creek Trail (paved.) These rides are meant for exploring so bring questions not your heart rate monitor. Come by at 8:00 for pre-ride coffee. Ride organizer: Eileen Schaubert at eileen@mellowjohnnys.com or 512-426-4851.

Violet Crown Cycles Custom City Bikes at the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market
9 AM- 1 PM, Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market, Tony Burger Center Parking Lot, 3200 Jones Rd
After a summer break, Austin framebuilder, Violet Crown Cycles, returns with a booth at the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market. Violet Crown Cycles is a builder of custom, handbuilt Dutch style city bikes and heavy and light touring bikes. View and test ride sample bikes, browse custom options, and have your questions answered about the bike building process and the features of bikes truly built for transportation. Come out and see the bikes and get some fresh, locally grown food while your at it.

Austin Mountain Bike Patrol
9 AM, Walnut Creek Municipal Park 12138 N. Lamar Blvd
Sponsored by the Austin Ridge Riders, the Austin Mountain Bike Patrol (AMBP) promotes bike safety and proper trail etiquette, as well as providing minor first aid and mechanical assistance to all trail users as needed. You don’t need to be a skilled bicyclist to ride with us, but you must wear a helmet and have a mechanically-sound mountain bike to participate. If you do plan on riding with the patrol, always call beforehand to confirm, as the weather and/or trail conditions may necessitate a ride cancellation. Contact John Southrey at 589-4543 or via e-mail at amicovered@att.net for more info. Meet in the parking lot in front of the Walnut Creek Municipal pool at 9:00 a.m.

Sunday, September 6

27th Annual Moonlight Cruze
2 AM, Lamar Blvd Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge, Lady Bird Lake
Story behind the Moonlight Cruze: Back in the day (27 years ago) the Cruze got started by Lynn Carter and the old Austin Cruzer Bike Shop that was located on 34th street between what are now Salvation Pizza and Food Heads. It was officially sponsored by the shop, with registration, maps, and everything. The shop stopped sponsoring the ride one year after a rider was hit and killed by a driver on his way home afterwards. Previous to that, the date was always the Sunday following the September full moon. It never had anything to do with the Harvest Moon. The year after the accident, with no official leader or sponsor, we all showed up at the usual spot, at the usual time, and found a pile of route maps waiting for us on the pavement. So we did the ride, and have continued to do so on the same route every year on the Sunday after the full moon in September. Following that formula puts this years ride on September 6.

Tour of Austin: Austinbikes Pickle Criterium
8 AM, JJ Pickle Research Campus, 10100 Burnet Road
Second day of the Tour of Austin, this criterium features a  1.15-mile loop with 33 feet of elevation change and six right hand and two left hand turns. Cat 1/2 at 75 minutes to 4/5 Junior at 30 minutes. Discount registration for whole three day Tour. Free Dill Pickle with registration!

Sunday Morning Fixie Ride
8:20 AM, Posse East, 2900 Duval St
The ride is focused on fixed-gear bikes, but everyone is welcome. The ride will proceed at a social pace from the UT campus on various routes of 25-35 miles.

Capital City BMX Weekly Race Series
1 PM, Capital City BMX, 15010 FM Road 620 North
The Capital City BMX opened in November 2008 and offers you a chance to learn and race BMX. BMX races are held every Sunday with rider check-in 1-2 PM. Cost $10/rider. (There is also practice time on Saturday’s. Check Capital City BMX for more info.)

Hardcourt Bike Polo
2 PM, Eastwoods Park, 3001 Harris Park Ave
Join fellow bike polo enthusiasts as part of the newly formed Austin Bike Polo Club for a friendly Sunday match every week. All bikes and skill levels are welcome and spare mallets and balls are available if you don’t have any. Check out our recent article on bike polo for more info.

Monday, September 7

Tour of Austin: eRacing Stigma Criterium
8 AM, State Hopsital, 45th Street Entrance
The third day of the Tour of Austin, this criterium features a 0.9 mile loop with 32 feet of elevation change per lap and one hairpin turn. Cat 1/2 at 75 minutes to 4/5 Juniors at 30 minutes. Discount registration for whole three day Tour. $10,000 in price money.

Yoga for Cyclists
9 AM, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, 400 Nueces St
Join Gioconda for a one hour “workshop” style yoga class designed specifically to address the needs of cyclists. Whether you are a recreational cyclist or you race bikes, you can use this time to learn specific yoga poses to help maintain flexibility, develop better muscle coordination and avoid injuries that can occur from overuse or over-tightness in common areas. Hand-outs will be provided so for reference so you can integrate what you learn into your fitness routines.

Weekly Ladies Ride presented by Mellow Johnny’s
5:30 PM, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Show, 400 Nueces St
Starting at 5:30 sharp, it’s a 2 hour ride for ladies only. Join experienced riders from Mellow Johnny’s for a friendly and moderately paced social ride (14-16mph average). Get more comfortable riding in a group, learn tips & tricks, and meet other like-minded cyclists. Stay afterwards for champagne and strawberries at Royal Blue Grocery across the street! Some things to keep in mind before meeting us for this ride: Have a road bike in good working condition, Bring a helmet, Wear cycling clothing, Bring plenty of water, Are able to ride comfortably for 2 hours without stopping.

Tuesday, September 8

Dirt Derby
5:30 PM, Austin/Del Valle Motorcross Park, 15400 Pearce Ln, Del Valle, TX
Austin’s weekly cyclocross series returns for its fourth season at the the fully illuminated motocross course and surrounding fields at Austin/Del Valle Motorcross Park (ADVMX). There are A, B, beginners, women’s, and children’s races in cyclocross and short track mountain bike. New this year are monthly 4 week series and A2W and Violet Crown Cycles have come on board as sponsors of the cyclocross series. Each time you race you are entered into a drawing for a custom cyclocross frameset by Violet Crown Cycles. The more you race, the more chances to win.  $10, women, beginners and kids only $5. Second race same night $5. All types of bikes are welcome.

Wheel Truing 101
5:30 – 7 PM (Second class on Sept 10) Bicycle Sport Shop Central, 517 S. Lamar

This 3 hour class will cover wheel theory, learn how to assess wheel damage and true wheels. Students will learn, wheel theory, all aspects of truing (lateral, radial, dish, and tension), how to assess and repair wheel and rim damage. Tools will be provided for the class, but students wishing to purchase their own will receive 20% off required tools.

Monthly Bike Time Trials by RunFAR Racing Services
5:30 PM, Mopac Veloway, 4848 La Crosse Ave
RunFAR Racing Services is back doing their twice a month TT series on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. An approximately 8 mile Bike Time Trial, the race is free or all Chip Owners. You can rent a chip for $5.00 if you do not own a chip or forget your chip. You may purchase a chip at the RunFAR Store OR we will have personal chips for sale at registration. First cyclist starts at 6pm. Riders may start at their discretion. Registration begins at 5:30pm and closes just before 6:55pm. Course: S. Mopac Loop. Starts on the southbound shoulder just past La Crosse Ave. And finishes on the northbound shoulder just before La Crosse Ave. Results will be posted ONLINE ONLY.

Wednesday, September 9

Weekly Women’s Ride with Austin Flyer’s Team
6 PM, Bicycle Sport Shop Central, 517 South Lamar Blvd
Join local cycling team the Austin Flyers for this weekly women’s ride. The ride will leave from BSS Central Location (Lamar and Barton Springs) every week except for the last Wednesday of the month when it will leave from BSS North location (183 and Braker). This is a relaxed-pace, no-drop ride open to all levels and will last up to two hours. If you have any questions about the ride, please email Tammy Thompson.

Casual South Austin Wednesday Night Ride
6:30 PM, Don’s Automotive 1636 South 1st St, Austin
Leave from Don’s Automotive 1636 South First between 6:30 – 7:00.  About 10+ miles, average a little over 10 mph.  Lately the ride has been doing a loop including Barton Hills Blvd and some hills like Lund St.  We avoid the Hike and Bike trail for being too crowded.   Nothing highly technical or competitive but the ride would be difficult or impossible with a single speed or cruiser type bike.  This group is certainly not the fastest but not the slowest either. Ride organizer: Don from Don’s Automotive, 512-447-9032