I ride solo and don't have much of a choice otherwise. I live in the middle of nowhere.
For a 2 hour ride on the rails to trails I might see 3 others on a bike. Mostly I come across older retired folk walking.
I am 42 years old and in my lifetime I have seen a grand total of 4 people riding a bike on the road. When I was around 18, I recall seeing someone all dressed up on the state route I was driving. About 8 years ago getting gas out here in the sticks where I live, I saw 2 people loaded down with baggage trudging up the hill. This winter is the 4th. Saw a younger fellow crusing down the road in town. That one is assumed to be DUI, not the type of person to be "cycling."
I have 2 coworkers who bought Bikes Direct mountain bikes around the same time. The first is a recreational rider who mashes and rides with his seat the whole way down. He bought the bike to ride with his girlfriend on occasion. We've ridden once and was caught in a huge thunderstorm.
The other coworker bought his to ride for an hour of exercise. He is 175 compared to my at the time we rode 240. He also had been riding all summer where I had just started. I got a text with half a mile left o the trail from him at the trailhead, "must suck to be 40." He is a little too cocky about it. I told him next time I am strapping one of the forktruck propane tanks to his back to make it a little more even with the weight. I did try to blame it on me riding an 8 year old Walmart bike, but he made sure to point out that I was on his bike and he was on my bike.
One other at work who rides. He has been riding for a few years and he is more long distance than I am. I have kids to take care of so don't have many days to ride longer distances. He rode last fall Pittsburgh to DC. He claims I'll be riding to DC this fall with him, ha! Not sure if I'd be capable of riding that or no6t, but I know I wouldn't have the time to ride it. I hope to get a chance to ride some with him sometime. We don't live near each other and he works 12 hour shifts so we can't get together much.
So I have 1 guy who drops me and is cocky about it, 1 who I would drop if we didn't have to hide under picnic shelters waiting for the downpour to lighten up (that was a 3 hour 4 mileride that day, lol), and 1 who I can't go the distance with yet.