Strange Old Guy on a Pushbike

Iwas told a story by an acquaintance who I know to be wholly sane and actually quite conservative. This story was told more as a curious tale then a ghost story as such and for that reason it is even more credible.

This acquaintance of mine was driving along an old road outside of Yass in central NSW. He had a couple of friends in the car when their car got a flat on a deserted stretch of road. It was the middle of the day in summer. They were changing the tyre on the car when they saw an old man riding a pushbike along the road towards them. This sight alone struck them as odd due to the fact that they were about 40 km from the nearest town and almost that far from the nearest property. The man drew nearer and nearer and they noticed that the bike he was riding was extremely old looking. When the man was in earshot they said hello to the man, but the man did not acknowledge them and kept riding along the road as though they did not exist. They kept changing the tyre and did not think anymore of it. When they were underway again, they realised that the old man on the bike was already out of sight, which was odd because he had only passed them a couple of minutes earlier and the road they were on was long and straight. They kept on driving down this road that had sheep fences and thick open fields on either sides. They did not see the man again.

My acquaintance friend is reluctant to admit that he saw a ghost that day but can think of no other explanation.