八尋先生

増馬です。
お元気ですか？

こちらはよい天気が続いていて、気温もかなり暖かく感じます。
会社も年末休みになったので昨日は久しぶりに100キロ程走って
きました。
　やはり富士山は大きく、肉眼でみるとその雄大さに興奮して
しまいますね。久しく無理をしたからか、今日は体がきつくて
ゴロゴロしていました。時折、風に流れて聞こえてくる立川競輪
の音に、選手も大変だな、と感じてしまいました。

　本年は大変お世話になりました。
思いもかけない転勤に戸惑うばかりでしたが、いつまでも
そう言っていられません。食べるためには気持ちを切り替えないと
いけないので、何とか頑張っていますが郷愁の念はいつも持ち合わ
せています。

　何が堪えるかと言えば、やはり鳥栖に住む両親のことですね。
久しく電話をすると６７歳の母が脚を痛めたとのこと。歩くことも
ままならないという話しに何もできない自分がもどかしくてならず、
せめてもと思い子機付きの電話機を送ったのですが、取り付け方が
わからないとの電話に遠きに身を置くことの不便さと親不孝を思い
ました。
　親類の助けをかりて何とか電話はつけることができましたが、
母の脚は完治はせず西洋療法で治るものでもないようです。そこで
思わず先生の電話番号を父に教えました。
　
年始のお忙しい時に恐らく私の父から電話があると思いますが、
診療をお願いしたく、ご対応よろしくお願いいたします。

　来年はまた、何があるかわかりませんが、先生もお体を大切に
お過ごしください。

今年は東京で年を越しますが、GWには帰省できればと思っています。
それではよいお年をお迎えください。

Dear Yukio,

Thanks for your wonderful email I received a couple of weeks ago.
I have been very busy as well and forgive me for being a bit lazy with the late sending of my email.

Best wishes for the new year my friend and may 2004 be a happy and prosperous new year for both ourselves and our families. Hopefully in 2004 our paths will cross again somewhere. Unfortunately I did not get to ride the Tour de China this year but one of my big goals is to ride the tour again in July 2004.

How is your family my friend? The picture of Yuuya was great and you also looked very well Yukio.

Alex and Kathy are doing wonderfully, and you will see by the photo's how fast the little man is growing. It won't be long now and he will be pedalling away with Dad.

I have had a very good end of year with my bike racing. In September I took the family to Kathy's home town of Brisbane and I participated in the Australian Veterans Cycling championship in a place called Mooloolaba and won the gold medals in the road race and the criterium. It was a fantastic holiday and we also had a week to catch up with family and relax doing a bit of sightseeing. I've attached a few photo's from our trip.

Two weeks ago I had the best ride of the year and won the Western Australian Open State Criterium Championship in a field of 60 riders, most of them nearly half my age and fulltime riders. The British Olympic Endurance Team was also riding as they are here to acclimatise for the Athens Olympic Games next year. There were only three of us left at the finish, I finish 3rd across the line behind the two British boys, but they were not eligible for the medals so the State Title went to me.

At the moment the weather is very very hot, so it is hard to get out in the afternoons training. I try and get out very early in the mornings so it is not too hot.
I am riding the Australian Open Criterium championship starting on the 2nd January and the Perth Criterium Series from the 3rd to 5th January. I will let you now how I go, but I am not going to put too much pressure on myself as it is the off season.

As always, it was wonderful to hear from you. I hope you enjoy the photo's and I know that we will get to go fishing together sometime in the future.

Looking forward to hearing from you again soon my friend.
Take care and give all our love to your family.
Your lifelong friend.
Steve