Spring Break and SXSW start this weekend that there’s a crazy amount of stuff going on. Luckily, the weather should be beautiful. Finish out the ACA Traffic 101 mini clinics on Saturday morning and join in the massive SXSW BikeHugger Mobile Social with currently over 1800 RSVPs.

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.

Thursday, March 11

Thursday Night Bike Polo
5:30 PM, Eastwoods Park, 3001 Harris Park Ave
The Austin Bike Polo Club’s weekday match. 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.

Social Cycling ATX Rider Leader training
6:30 PM, The Scoot Inn, 1308 E. 4th St. (Corner of 4th and Navasota)
Ever wanted to help out on the popular Social Cycling ATX Thursday Night Social Ride or other social rides? Show up for a brief training and join in on the ride later.

Driveway Crit Series Kickoff Party
7 PM, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, 400 Nueces St
Come celebrate the return of the weekly Driveway Crit Race series with Holland Racing and the crew. We will have beer, food, and…roller races! Show your friends how good you look when you rock it on the bike.

Thursday Night Social Ride
7:30 PM, The Scoot Inn, 1308 E. 4th St. (Corner of 4th and Navasota)
A ride from the Facebook group Social Cycling ATX. that has gotten so big it had to abandon the Pfluger Bridge start location. Meet  at 7:30 p.m. leave at 8 p.m. Details on this week’s ride: “It’s THE DENIM RIDE. I want to see stitched denim, bedazzled denim, jorts, denim jackets, denim loin cloths or even just your plain old everyday Canadian Tuxedo. We’re going to ride around and show off our style, then end up at the Red 7 for the usual refreshements. There are even bands outside if you’re into that thing. But inside we’ll be having a few contests for our riders with PRIZES provided by OZONE BIKE DEPARTMENT. Our denim contests include: Short jorts contest… for the ladies and gentlemen, Best Camel Toe, Best Moose Knuckle (guys, no cheating)” Read our recent article on the popular weekly ride.

Friday, March 12

Austin Ciclovia Brainstorm Session
11:30, Austin City Hall
Please join Council Member Sheryl Cole and Council Member Chris Riley for a community brainstorm session for an Austin Ciclovia! Ciclovia events are held around the world. Not races, these events encourage public health and community building by providing an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to ride a bike, jog, skate, or walk on our city streets in a safe, motor free environment.

Traffic Skills 101 sponsored by Austin Cycling Association
5 PM, REI Downtown, 601 N Lamar Blvd
Do you want to ride your bike but are afraid of traffic? Or are you an experienced cyclist who would like to learn how to get more courtesy and respect from motorists? If your answer to any of these questions is “yes”, you should take Traffic Skills 101, the League of American Bicyclist’s (LAB) street cycling course for adults. Traffic Skills 101 will help you ride safely and effectively – to work, to the store, around your neighborhood, or around the state. Traffic Skills 101 is taught by LAB-certified instructors, and the curriculum covers everything from bike selection to simple maintenance to fixing a flat, to strategies for riding a bike safely and confidently. It is taught to very small classes (generally 5 to 10 students), in two sessions: 4 hours on a Friday evening and 5 hours on a Saturday morning. Registration is required.

Saturday, March 13

3rd Annual Be Kind To Cyclist Ride
8 AM, Pure Austin, 907 W 5th St
Let’s all be kind to cyclists and celebrate with this free ride. Distances will be 20 and 40 miles.

Traffic Skills 101 Mini Clinics: Bike Handling and Enjoyment
8:30 AM, Mellow Johnny’s, 400 Nueces St
If you’ve ever wanted to brush up on your bike safety but cannot swing the time for the full Traffic 101 classes offered by the Austin Cycling Association, here’s your chance to pick and choose the portions you need help with in bit sized amounts. The last in a series of 5 mini-clinics enjoyed over our morning coffee, today’s topics include: Bike Handling Skills such as Starting/Stopping, Shifting and Scanning along with Hazard Avoidance Maneuvers. ACA will be offering Traffic Skills 101 Mini Clinics starting this week through March in easy to schedule one hour segments. Each class is $10 or $5 if you are already an ACA member. This week is Traffic Skills 101 Mini Clinics:Bike Handling and Enjoyment with optional hosted ride Scout-A-Route Ride.

Mellow Johnny’s Scout-A-Ride Ride Hill of a Ride
9:30 AM, Mellow Johnny’s, 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 Ride Hill of a Ride – a special hill climbing edition. We’ll see some of Austin’s best training hills near downtown and improve your technique at the same time. Expect to climb so treat your bike to a tune-up before ride day if it’s not shifting smoothly. Today’s 8:30 am mini-clinic covers Handling Skills including Shifting. $5 ACA members / $10 non-members. Check the clinic listing for more details.These rides are meant for exploring so bring your questions and leave your heart rate monitor at home. Come by at 9:00 for coffee. Ride organizer: Eileen Schaubert at eileen@mellowjohnnys.com or 512-426-4851.

Texas Dance Hall Cycling Tour
10 AM, Sengelmann Dance Hall,  531 N Main St, Schulenburg, TX
Sugar Cycles, presents the first annual Texas Dance Hall Ride, that will take place on Saturday, March 13 2010. Multiple ride options 15, 20, 32, 42 and 65 miles. All distances start in front of Sengelmann’s Dance Hall on Main Street. Riders of all ages and capabilities will be able tour the famous Painted Churches. The riders will also get to experience two of Texas’ historic dance halls, both over one hundred years old.

BikeHugger SXSW Mobile Social
2 PM, Brush Square Park, 4th & Neches St
Seattle based cycling blog Bike Hugger will be hosting another social ride at SXSW this year. Start at Brush Square Park and end up at Mellow Johnny’s at 400 Nueces for the After Party with lots of free stuff. You must get a wrist band at the ride start or have a SXSW badge to get into the afterparty. Ride guides provided by Social Cycling ATX.

Sunday, March 14

Sunday Morning Fixie Ride
10:20 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.

The Drag or Draft Race
12:30 PM, Triangle Park, W. 46th & Triangle Ave
This race is going down on March 14th, the first weekend of SXSW, and the first day of Daylight Savings Time. Come revel in the first day of extra sun goodness by racing your heart out. The race itself is roughly a 13-mile sprint from Howard Ln. to Auditorium Shores. No checkpoints, no frills- just pumping those legs as fast as you can all the way to the river. Once you hit the Triangle, take either Lamar or Guadalupe- the choice is yours! Once you’ve reached the finish, you will be rewarded with free race t-shirts and some lovely- non-alcoholic- beverages. From there we cruise over to Uncle Billy’s for the real refreshments, tunes, and the awards (as well as the chance to mingle with lovely, sweaty biker bodies). The after-party is open to racers, people only competing in side events, and everybody else you can drag along.

Weekly Ladies Ride presented by Mellow Johnny’s
3:30 PM, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Show, 400 Nueces St
Starting at 3:30 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.

BikeClub Games SXSW presentation of Tall Bike Joust for iPhone game

4 PM, Austin Convention Center

BikeClub Games recently developed a virtual bike jousting game for iPhones called Tall Bike Joust and will be in Austin to demo the game at SXSW Interactive.

Tuesday, March 16

Tuesday Night Bike Polo Match
5 PM, Joslin Park, Manchaca St & Redd St
In the last month, Austin Texas Bike Polo Social Club has added matches in South Austin on Tuesday nights.

League of Bicycling Voters Board Meeting
6:30 PM, BikeTexas offices, 1902 E 6th St
Monthly meeting of the League of Bicycling Voters to plan upcoming bicycle advocacy projects.

Wednesday, March 17

Hump Day Ride hosted by Social Cycling ATX
Noon, Lamar Blvd Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge, Lady Bird Lake
The latest new ride from Social Cycling ATX. Social paced ride for the riders that can make it out during the work week. We will have a few stops one at a coffee shop and one for lunch. All levels are welcome. Share with your “funemployed” friends.

Weekly Bike Maintenance and Flat Repair Classes hosted by Mellow Johnny’s
6 PM, Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop, 400 Nueces St
Every Wednesday at 6pm Mellow Johnny’s has bike maintenance and flat repair classes. Learn how to fix a flat tire and add life to your bike with simple maintenance and repairs. Please RSVP to Chuck at chuck@mellowjohnnys.com if you plan on attending on of the classes. Classes fill up quickly so RSVP soon so you don’t get left out!

Wednesday Night Road Ride XXXI
7 PM, Check site for start location
Formerly the Thursday Night Road Ride. All levels of riders are welcome on this 20-25 mile night ride with stops to regroup. This is a “friendly drop” ride. This means that if we can see your lights, you won’t drop be dropped. Lights are mandatory and helmets strongly recommended. Come early and enjoy drinks and food before and after the ride.