Sunday 17 June - A wild and woolly Downhill at El Arish today! Wyn finally gets the goods on Miles with a storming second run... Photos available here, results soon.

Sunday 17 June - Message from Normie at 0725:

El Arish DH Race is on, but will be delayed by an hour and bring your mud tyres if you've got them. Current weather doesn't look too promising, but it isn't currently raining. Transport to the top is very difficult as the road is very slippery, and at this point will only be to about half way unless we get some sun.

At this stage, the race is ON.

Wednesday June 6 - Mackay Club advise that their website is up and running at www.mackaymountainbikeclub.com and you can now check out the information on the Qld Downhill Championships. Also Marcia advises that their DH event this weekend is definitely ON!

 Sunday June 3 - Due to the poor turnout for the working bee at El Arish today, MTX1 set down for Saturday June 16 has been cancelled. Instead there will be a working bee to get the DH track up to scratch for DH1 on Sunday June 17. If insufficient people turn up for the working bee on the 16th, DH1 will also be cancelled.

Please note that this is a cancellation, not a postponement - MTX1 won't happen. Many thanks to the three people who made the effort to get to El Arish and make a start on the work today...

Saturday June 2 - Photos from today's XC Round 2 are now available in the usual place. Results are on the Results page, as are the current series standings.

Tuesday May 29 - Results of the 2007 Cropthorn / Pump 'n Pedals AMC Series now posted on the Results page. (Correct Series Points file now uploaded...)

Don't forget to check the Race Notes page for information about this weekend's XC2 and working bee.

Sunday May 27 09:50am - Today's AMC is still on... In fact, we've finished it and the photos are now available, the results will be along soon. Wyn Masters was the overall winner, also setting the fastest times.

Sunday May 20 - All Mountain Challenge Round 1 results are now posted on the Results page...

The points tally and final results are now available for the Pony Express and XC1. Normie has sworn he will never, ever try to run both races at the same time again!

Sunday May 13 - Photos for the All Mountain Challenge have been posted, results as soon as I get them.

Some changes to the XC/PE results posted. Please remember that all posted results are provisional for at least 24 hours following the time of posting! The committee has approved the purchase of a timing system, which we hope will be up and running as soon as possible, which will help alleviate problems with results. It's going to be bloody expensive, so if anyone wants to make a donation towards the purchase, feel free to do so as any donations will be added to the expenditure approved, not subtracted from it. In other words, if you donate a couple of hundred dollars, that gets added on to what we have budgeted to spend. Hopefully, the days of Normie, Barbara and co timing races with an egg-timer and an hourglass are about to come to an end!

NOTE: There is a calendar change! MTX1 will be held on Saturday afternoon, 16th June, followed by DH1 on Sunday 17th June. Check the Race Notes page for more details!

The next month is action packed for anyone in the racing scene and if you are following the XC and DH series in North Queensland there is 4 weeks of back to back racing coming up. Check the calendar for details. To prepare the El Arish track for Round 1 of the Cairns series, there will be a working bee at El Arish on Sunday 3rd June, starting at 9.00AM. Bring your bikes as there will be some riding afterwards.

Sunday May 13 - Results for XC1 and PE2 are now available on the Results page.

Saturday May 12 - Well, the weather was perfect and the track just had a few minor puddles in it by the time everyone was ready to race. Photos are available now, results will be along soon...

Friday May 11 - On the left you will see a new button - 'Race Notes'. This is where you will find any information about upcoming races, either via the Race Director or relayed through the webmaster. Always look there first. There is some new info for tomorrow's race, and also for Sunday.

Friday 4 May - Everything you need to know about the next Pony Xpress and XC Round 1 is now on the Calendar page, just below the calendar itself. Also further information on the AMC rounds.

On the right of this page, you'll find a link to the AMC poster in pdf format. The AMC Series is sponsored by and

Wednesday 2 May - Our raving roving reporter is back... There's another story from Struan here.

Sunday 22 April - Yesterday's Pony Express saw a good turnout with a lot of old faces reappearing, and most of the usual suspects as well. All the pictures are up, and the results are now available from the Results page.

The calendar as shown on this site is now final, with the proviso that if the DH/MTX one-day format doesn't work, we'll change it.

Tuesday 17 April - There are a couple of minor modifications to the calendar: the 'Tri-Cities' series is now known as the 'NQ Sunshine Series' (and there goes El Arish's status as a city...) and the first round is in Mackay on June 10. Nothing much else has changed, the deadline for comments has come and gone so it looks like we're ready to race! See you at the Pony Express on Saturday!

Luke will be running a casual working bee at Smithfield this Sunday, 22nd April. Details are meet at 4pm at the Smithfield trail head, and bring a shovel or pick axe and a bike. Plan is to clean up some sections for the All Mountain and then ride it.

Thursday April 12 - A couple of minor alterations to the calendar, notably registration times for the AMC. Final days for comment on the calendar, then it becomes final and we can go racing!

Monday April 2 - Okay, we know you've all been wondering what the heck has been going on with Smithfield, so we're going to give you a look behind the scenes. For the last 'forever', Erin Boland from Gordon Dixon's Down Under Tours has been working her way through the paper warfare required to get us back in there. Have a read of the three PDF files below, and then let us know if you think you could have handled all of this... I'm damn sure I couldn't!

Section 34 Agreement

Applicant's Submission

Environmental Management Plan.

And we're not finished yet, although I understand that a signature is so close Erin can just about taste it!

Saturday March 31 - There is now a draft calendar on the calendar page. The calendar will become final on April 14. If you have any suggestions to make, or questions, or just have a comment to make, you can either contact Normie, Gordon or Mal, email the Club address or post on the forum.

Due to heavy work commitments, this year we are definitely going to need assistance with setup, registration, timing and cleanup, as well as all the other irritating little jobs that go towards putting on a successful race event. No help, no race...

Very shortly, we'll be able to post a report on here telling you what's going on at Smithfield (and it's all positive, so don't mess anything up out there - especially do NOT take vehicles into the area or build new trails/tracks...).

Tuesday March 27 - If you think the site looked weird, it got reloaded from an old backup by the ISP...

And now that we're back in business, the last thing anyone in their right mind would want to read is another story by Frank Falappi - but you're getting it anyway. Go to the Stories page (but don't say we didn't warn you...)

Tuesday March 20 - For all you itching to get out on the trails again, there is a working bee planned on the Smithfield XC loops for Saturday 31/03 from 2.30PM at Smithfield. This will be for work on the XC loops and mainly the 3 fingers and some tidy up work since the last month. This will get the trails in good riding condition for the Easter break, for those of you staying in town.

This is followed by the first race of the season, a 2.5 hour Pony Xpress on Saturday 21st April starting at 2.00pm and check the calendar for more details. We will be publishing more events on the calendar over the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for changes and dates to set aside for club races.

For all you downhillers in need of some racing, the Townsville club are running a series on their new Mt Stuart track, with the first round planned for April 8 (over the Easter break). Anyone looking for a fix of DH racing, make your way to Townsville and check out the new track.  More info on the Townsville races can be found on the calendar page or go to www.rockwheelers.com

Sunday February 11 - An update for you all on the recent working bees at Smithfield and some excellent progress that has been made on trail maintenance on the cross country and downhill courses:

Cross Country
- The green loop is clear all the way through, with both creek crossings again rideable
- The rainforest section is a little tricky with the tree roots, but this always makes for the challenge of riding off road.
- Black snake has been cleared and cut back and is rideable with some care on the switchbacks.
- 1st finger, jacobs ladder and caterpillars are all cleared and rideable
- We still need to finish some work on the 2nd and 3rd fingers. These can be ridden, please take care as they are quite rough at the moment.
- A number of waterbars have been added to the track to divert water flow. Please leave these intact during the wet season.

Adrian Borjse is currently looking after cross country trail maintenance at Smithfield, and you can report any areas needing attention to Adrian. This is either via the club email or contact Adrian directly on 0407655259.

Downhill
- The track from cockatoo flats to the finish has been cleared and is rideable.
- The rock garden is rideable with original lines restored. We are looking at multiple lines for this area to give us different options during races. This area is most likely to change from how it is now.
- It is push up access only, no vehicles are allowed on the access road. Please respect the trail and stay off the downhill course during wet weather.

A big thank you to everyone who dedicated their Saturday afternoon/s to helping out, your efforts are greatly appreciated. Thanks to Luke for getting the working bees organised and everyone motivated to get some trail maintenance underway. We are looking at more working bees again soon, and stay tuned to this website for more news and updates.

A quick update on the 2007 events calendar and we are hoping to have something published in the next 3-4 weeks.

Thanks
Normie
Race Director - Cairns Mountain Bike Club

Sunday February 4 - In the absence of much else at the moment, here's a couple of YouTube videos from our raving (sorry, ROving!) correspondent, Struan Lamont. First, Kim Kelleher shows how not to get out of her canoeing gear, then Struan shows what Kim missed out on...

If only it would stop raining, we could go down to El Arish, finish off the new track and go MTX racing! Yes, you read that right. Just keep your eyes open here, as Miles will need a working bee and then you can race. If we can dry the place out, that is. Bring a BIG sponge.

Sunday January 28 - Luke has two working bees planned for Smithfield in February - poster on the right...

Sunday January 21 - No, we hadn't forgotten you - it's just that there's not much happening at the moment. A fair amount of work has been done on the trails around the place, to restore the last of the damage caused by Larry last year. Most of it's been completed, and many thanks to all the guys who worked so hard in the blazing sun during what was supposed to be the start of the Wet Season but wasn't...

We'll be finalising the 2007 calendar shortly, once we figure out what venues we will have available. Then we'll be looking to the guys who put their names on the list at the AGM to get in and help organise things.

We're going to add a section to this website - "Places to Ride". If you would like to assist in writing up the information for each of the trails (either XC or DH) just start writing, and send it to the email address and we'll take it from there. Damian has already promised to do Smithfield while he's at sea this week, so we're looking for info on all the other places. Things to bear in mind: If we're not supposed to be riding there, don't bother writing it up because it won't be posted (Robson's springs to mind); information should include how to get there (especially for visitors - don't say 'It's just up the road from Waddleblah'), degree of difficulty, approximate distance, where you come out; also needed is information on whether permission is required. You know the drill, go for it! Like to see some contributions as soon as possible. Don't worry too much about grammar and English, I'll fix those (I've seen the way some of you lot write on the forum ).

Monday December 4 - A bit slow off the mark reporting this, but Tracey Hannah added to her collection of accolades recently, picking up the Sportscover Junior Female MTB Cyclist of the Year. Which isn't exactly surprising... Tracey was able to be present at the awards ceremony this year, and she was dressed a bit different to the way you're used to seeing her:

Congratulations, Tracey!

Sunday November 19 - Yesterday's All-Mountain Challenge was a real hoot, with spectacular riding (and quite a few crashes), even a sidecar trying to make it down the hill (trust Charlie to come up with something like that...). Photos are here, results are posted.

The Annual General Meeting saw Mal, Barbara and Gordon re-elected as President, Treasurer and Secretary, with Normie taking on Race Director. Yet another version of the Constitution was approved, and will be submitted to Fair Trading, hopefully for the final time.

The trophies were all handed out for the XC and DH racing series, plus:

• Encouragement Award - Lachlan McLaren

• Most Improved - James Tee and Frank Falappi

• Junior Rider of the Year - Demetri Pappas

• Senior Rider of the Year - Scott McLennan

• Club Member of the Year - Luke McDonald

Several people during the meeting pointed out that while the Club ended up having a good year (no thanks to Cyclones Larry and Monica) it was mainly due to the dedicated efforts of a few people - now it's YOUR turn.

So that's it for 2006, keep your eyes on this site and the forum for upcoming information - we'll keep you posted!

Monday November 13 - Series Results, Results and times for Downhill Round 5 are now available from the Results page. Results are provisional for 24 hours from the time of posting (9.30pm Monday) and any queries etc must be received by 9.30pm on Tuesday 15th. Then we go to the engravers to get the trophies ready for Saturday!

Speaking of Saturday, don't forget to read the poster on the right, we aim to make it a fun day! Also please read the comment below about Club membership being required...

Just Added: Frank Falappi's story of the Veteran class at El Arish Round 5 on the Stories page (link on the menu). Please note: the Club takes no responsibility for anything Frank says anytime, anywhere, anyhow. If you wish to discuss the story with him, he can be contacted at the Cairns Police Watchhouse. No, he's not an inmate (debateable), he's in charge of it. Still want to complain?

Sunday November 12 - Another great day in beautiful downtown El Arish! Just waiting for the final placings to come through (may not be tonight, Normie's worn out) but the pics are up in the usual place or from the Photo Gallery on the left.

Don't forget the 'All Mountain Challenge' next Saturday, followed by the AGM and a Pony Express. Note: we said 'It's all free" but that only applies to Club members, you must be a member to play. You can, as usual, join on the day but it's an insurance requirement that its members only. Hey, it's only $20 a year and you get to vote in the AGM immediately afterward!

Monday 6 November - Series Results, Results and times for XC2 are now posted on the Results page. (Updated 6.10pm and still subject to confirmation...)

Sunday 5 November - There's a short delay getting the results of XC2 and the XC final standings up for you, there's a query on one of the Juniors. In the meantime, the photos are available in the usual place.

Friday 27 October - We've had a few nominations for Club Member of the Year and Rider of the Year (some interesting ones, too!) so if you have any more, send 'em along!

And now for something a bit different:

WHAT:  Cairns Mountain Bike Club All Mountain Challenge

WHERE:  Smithfield Mountain Bike Park

WHEN:  Saturday 18th of November (AGM Day) @ 2.00pm

HOW MUCH:    Nothing...

To end the year with some fun we are going to run a timed participation event. The format will be familiar to the DH racers but the course will be a mix of light down hill and XC. The track will start on top of Black Snake and wind down the Black Snake descent onto the second half of the Green Loop through the Pines and finish at the normal XC finish line. Times are expected to be around the 3 ½ minute mark. The track will favour neither DH or XC bikes so anyone can give it a go, the hot ticket will be a 5” travel trail bike and a fit pilot.

We will make some slight changes to the descent to make things interesting but we will incorporate A and B lines so everyone can have some fun.

Afterwards we will have a BBQ and AGM (With Trophy presentations) followed by a Pony Express.

Sunday 22 October - The results for XC5 and the overall points are now available on the Results page, and the pics are here. Great to see such a good turnout for the race, and the new faces. Here's a quote from a Downhiller having his first crack at XC - "My dear lord XC is so hard!!! I ended up with 6 laps and felt dead, that's definitely way harder than racing downhill!" Maybe more people should be doing both...

Nominations are now being accepted for "Rider of the Year" and "Club Member of the Year". Nominations by email to info@cairnsmtb.com

Saturday 21 October - Overall points score for Downhill has been corrected and uploaded. There was a small problem with the Veteran class (actually, there's lots of problems with the Veteran class - have you ever tried to deal with them? ) which has been rectified. Makes the fight for the minor placings very tight...

Friday 20 October - Photos from El Arish are up. You will find them linked from the Results page, not from the Photo Gallery page (or here). Thanks to the three photographers involved!

 Tuesday 16 October - Want a laugh? Go read Frank Falappi's story of 'Veteran Downhilling in El Arish' on the Stories page. Totally unedited (he'd probably lock me up if I messed with it) so it's all his responsibility

On a side note, we are now getting a few people starting to write stuff for the site - the more the merrier! Send them in, we'll publish (almost) anything! This is all supposed to be fun, so do your bit.

Added: DH Round 5 will be held at El Arish on Sunday November 12th. The original date is not available for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the owner said so :)

Monday 15 October - Results for DH 3 & 4 are now available on the Results page. Overall points score is now up too. Normie's story on the event is on the Stories page.

Sunday 14 October - Results from today's event should be up tomorrow night, Normie is worn out and needs some time to put all the files together.

The Croc Trophy starts this week, and we expect to have daily reports from Struan Lamont posted here, so watch out for that!

Wednesday 27 September - I might as well abuse my privileges as webmaster here: some lowlife has stolen my yellow Mongoose Teocali Elite from off the bike rack on the back of my car at work today. So if you see someone riding around in Cairns on something that looks way too expensive for them (I'm sure you know what I mean...) please contact me or Cairns Police. Great start to my two weeks holiday! We are not amused...

There are a few Teocali Elites around, and they are all yellow. Please don't harass the wrong person. The serial number on mine is HAJNJ00735.