During the first 10 of my 13 mile route in to work, I almost never see other bikes (except for "local traffic," kids etc.). When I approach downtown, there are a couple of people I frequently see and wave to, but they're across four lanes of traffic so conversation is out of the question. On the last leg I'm on one-way streets. There are a couple of people I see frequently -- a runner and a guy on a 'bent -- and we sometimes exchange pleasantries if we happen to match pace for a moment.

Most of my "regulars" are people like school crossing guards, the guy who sits outside his comics shop, the newspaper seller who works the cars at 34th & Grays Ferry -- people like that who I see every day, and always have a sile, a wave, or a word about the weather.

Coming home at night, it's pretty much nada.

RichC