Three months ago on 28 October 2009 at about 4.30pm I crashed my bike on the bike path beside the Turner school, in between Condamine and David Streets. I had somehow managed to clip the chainlink fence and get flung off. I don’t remember hitting the ground, only a glimpse through the fence while (I think) I was flying through the air. I landed on the path, a few metres away from the bike, my fall broken by nothing but my helmet and a cotton t-shirt.
You were the first on the scene. I had just passed you riding the same way with your daughter. You asked if I was OK. I replied that I thought I was probably fine, which I think might have sounded something like “Mgh mm phmhm” and even though I politely moved my bike out of the way so that you could keep going, you insisted on staying to help. In hindsight, I really should have listened to you when you said you thought I might need an ambulance, but fortunately my father, to whom you spoke on the phone for me when he couldn’t understand what I was saying because I was having some difficulty breathing, drove me directly to hospital.
You helped me to the brick wall by David Street, and stayed with me until my father came.
Nice lady whose name I don’t know, if you are out there, I just want to say thank you for stopping and helping. Also, thank you to the many other people – mostly other cyclists, but also some motorists who stopped as you were passing by to offer your assistance. I’m not in a hurry to ride again, but it’s good to know that, in the real world, people look out for each other.