The leaves are orange and yellow and barely hanging on the trees. The morning chill stings a little more than usual. Everyone but the hardcore riders (and nutty cyclo-crossers) have already traded in the usual morning ride for some additional snooze time in the comforts of a warm bed. The mountain-bike season, my friends, is in the books.

That’s not to say that our favorite fat-tire sport is unworthy of attention at the moment. After all, the off-season is when some of the juicier news comes out. And the biggest news for North Americans and Europeans alike is the release of the 2006 UCI mountain-bike World Cup schedule.

As will probably be the case with the NORBA national series, the World Cup has scaled down its schedule from 2005. This year, cross-country, gravity and marathon racers competed in eight events; the 2006 schedule will feature six races for each discipline. And the 2006 season starts three weeks earlier than 2005 - with the first cross-country race scheduled April 1, European pros like Julien Absalon and Chrisoph Sauser will have to be ready to rock a tad earlier than in years past.

Of course, the early start date is nothing new for North Americans, who have had to dust off the old dirt rigs in early March. And many North Americans are likely to be present at the World Cup XC opener, which will be held on the Caribbean island of Curaçao (pronounced kyur-ah-sow), a tropical hunk of volcanic basalt off the north coast of Venezuela.

Oh, those poor mountain bikers. If luck smiles on this writer, he will be there as well, writing race reports beachside while sipping Fuzzy Navels.

While the 2006 schedule contains fewer races than in past years, it does force mountain-bikers to do a bit more globetrotting than in 2005. The meat of the season is still a European road trip away, with races at the familiar venues in Vigo, Spain; Spa Francorchamps, Belgium; Madrid; Fort William, Scotland; Willingen, Germany; Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec; and Schladming, Austria. Although no World Cup races will grace American soil in 2006, organizers have brought back the race at Balneorio Camboriu, Brazil, meaning that half of the 2006 cross-country races will be held in the Western Hemisphere.

And then there are the world championships, slated August 22-27 in New Zealand. Once again, if luck smiles on yours truly, I’ll be there, terrorizing hobbit families with my gangly 6-foot-3-inch frame all week.

Here’s the schedule. Book your flights early.

2006 UCI mountain-bike World Cup schedule

April 1-2: XC #1 - Curaçao (AHO)
May 6-7: DH #1 - Vigo (Spa)
May 6-7: Marathon #2 - Naoussia (Gre)
May 13-14: XC #2 - Spa Francorchamps (Bel)
May 20-21: XC #3 - Madrid (Esp)
May 27-28: XC #4, DH/4X #2 - Fort William (Sco)
June 3-4: DH/4X #3 - Willingen (Ger)
June 17-18: Marathon #3 - Mont-Sainte-Anne (Can)
June 24-25: XC #5, DH/4X #4 - Mont-Sainte-Anne (Can)
July 1-2: DH/4X #5 - Balneorio Camboriu (Bra)
July 8-9: Marathon #4 - Villabassa (Ita)
July 29-30: Marathon #5 - Bikepark (Swi)
August 13: Marathon World Championships - Oisans (Fra)
August 22-27: World Championships, XC, DH, 4X - Rotorua (NZl)
September 9-10: XC #6, DH/4X #6 - Schladming (Aut)