A partial restoration

This one happened on my ride home from work -- not a ride that I particularly enjoy (relatively speaking), but one that I persist with because of it's utility value. This was on the approach to a roundabout (read: traffic circle) at Broadbeach. I'd seen another cyclist enter the roundabout from another approach, but at the time I hadn't really given it a second thought. Partially because he had a clearer run through it than I did, meaning he'd be long gone by the time I got through, but moreso because I had another situation to deal with.

Some idiot in a car behind me decided that, although he was yet to actually figure out which direction he was going, he just had to pass under any circumstances -- even though he still had to decide what he was going to do next. This is a move I've seen plenty of times, so I was neither threatened nor impressed by it, and I saw it coming long before the idiot had even made up his tiny mind to attempt it.

However, after dealing with the situation and getting through the roundabout (in front of the idiot I might add), I saw the other cyclist waiting at the other side. We shared a quick joke about Gold Coast drivers, then went our separate ways. It was only three hours later that it dawned on me what had happened here. It appears as though this guy recognised the situation I was in and waited around to make sure I was OK. This was something he didn't need to do, least of all for a total stranger, but he did it anyway.

In the last twelve months, my faith in human nature has suffered a little, largely due to being physically assaulted while cycling on no fewer than four occasions during that time (although that's counting the ones that missed). Now somebody has gone some way toward restoring that faith a little. My only regret is that I didn't recognise this gesture in time to thank him for it. On the other hand, perhaps the best way of thanking him might be simply to follow his lead.