Maybe I am a lone wolf... I just enjoy the me time on bike. No work, no complicated things in mind... kind of off mode. Occasionally, I will be singing as I ride by... around 5 in the morning...

To work, it's so early that I may see 5 cars over the 10 mi... and I typically zone out, but when I do think it is generally "Ok, 1/4 done, that means two hills down 3 to go".

On the way home, it is "rush hour", and all I can do is think defense and about my surroundings. By the time I get home, I'm usually mentally beat.

Heh. I've been skipping out on the bike commutes lately because of 20-30MPH crosswinds. Going in, they're left-to-right during the climb on the (wide and usually clean) shoulder of a 45MPH road, meaning any break in the wind leaves me pulling myself into traffic. Coming home, they're right to left, so any break in the wind leaves me lurching toward the edge of the same overpass with a rail just high enough to smack my shin going over.

I commute with my girls in the morning and afternoon... they are the best riding companions. We book it in the morning so there is less time for chat but after school we pootle along and the girls tell me about their day and I rant about bad drivers... :)

At most other times it is just me, my bike, and homicidal soccer moms keeping me busy.

My loooong commute is 50 km of highway... never see another cyclist out there unless I am riding on the weekend as it is a popular area for local racers to train.

Yep, I leave the house at 5:10 and I never see anyone but a year round walker and some dogs walking. I never thought about it, but yep, it would be nice to see other cyclists. Though being an introvert, I am in my element, so I just want to see other cyclists and not to speak with them.

I enjoy riding with others, but I also really enjoy riding alone. When I head out alone, I have no work, no cell phone, no e-mail; just me and the bike. My bike is kind of like my Fortress of Solitude.

Since my commute is also my "workout", I'm generally not in a state where talking is comfortable for me, and I'd prefer to be alone. This is especially true in the morning - the solitude and shifting light are essential for me to come into the day in a good way.

That said, I do occasionally find myself in conversations with other commuters if we seem to be riding at a similar pace. I don't mind easing up my pace if I'm feeling tired, and sometimes prefer taking it easy and chatting than pushing it. Sometimes.

my iPod, but I don't listen to shuffle. I tend to listen to an album as a whole and really get a feel for a band's most recent effort. Recently, I've been on the XX. Sure listening to shuffle or Pandora offers variety, but focusing on just one album beginning to end is also nice.

Me too. My route involves so many changes in direction and speed that I wouldn't be able to talk for long anyway, and I'd just as soon not talk with people standing in the middle of the bike path or wondering if keeping left is the right thing to do.

Quit following me and I bet you wont be able to say that again.

I commute alone at night on country roads and really enjoy the peace and quiet.
Gives me time to clear my head and chat with God.

I rode up the local foothills one night for S24O and riding down was the best part! I'm sure I wore through half my brake pads on the switchbacks but it was like a rollercoaster on my bike. Great fun. I'm sure you'll like it.

Does god chat back? =]

Love to bike, but not too crazy about talking. And, yes, God does chat back. Best company in the world.

I'm a year-round early morning commuter on very comfortable routes of usually about 14 miles and often longer, when in training. I don't think of my commuting time as lonely, but rather call it "head" time. Probably work items are my most common head threads, and often mentally composing rough drafts of varous personal or work-related correspondence. I always have a listening device on, mostly a local radio talk show, and the hosts are in a sense riding companions. I think I only once actually stopped to call in while en route but often I am focused on the discussion. Sometimes I will E-mail in a comment, or perhaps call in when I arrive at work. I am known to them as their self-proclaimed "Number One Fan among Boston's Bicycle Commuters."

I'm a reverse commuter so mostly I see other cyclists going in the opposite direction. When I occasionally meet with a rider going in my direction, and he looks like a serious cyclist, I will try to ask if he is a subscriber to Bike Forums, since there are quite a few in the Boston area.

Finally, I find that commuting early in the morning in particularly wet and/or cold weather really makes me hunker down within my own physical and mental (head) space, and I call this state "cocooning."

If I could bend that far, I sure as heck wouldn't be riding the bike while doing it.

I like the solitude, but I have not had the chance to try any other way. I don't go at regular times, and the one or maybe two guys I see all blast right by me.

If there were hundreds of commuters on bikes, it would be such a common activity that we really wouldn't have that in common any more, just as someone in a car or on the bus wouldn't start chatting with some other random commuter just because that person was in a car or on the bus.

People here seem to be really competitive when they ride to work. I see teenagers riding to school who are in groups and chatting, but it seems we adults are all trying to win some kind of race. Yeah, sometimes I'm one of them. :rolleyes:
Perhaps it comes of living in a car culture. We've lost the habit of engaging other commuters because it's impossible in a car.
I don't particularly want to chat while I'm commuting, but I do think that if I say "Good morning" to another bike commuter I should get at least a nod back instead of a surly blank stare. What's up with that?

If he didn't then I would have said clear my head and talk to myself. The real trick is knowing when to shut up and listen. :p :D

I enjoy the ride, while people are stuck at the lights haha... And usually think about my breakfast lol

^this^
Since when I get to work I am usually hungry for breakfast number 3.

I agree with all the comments here. I may pass someone every now and again and say hi. Rarely do I get a response back. These people are regular commuters and not trying to beat Contador to work. I enjoy being with my thoughts, however when I run races I like to have a pace group and I guess the same is true with cycling. I kind of like to have someone to pace with if we talk that's a whole different thing.

A few days ago I was on my way home and a commuter passed me. As he came in front of my wheel I noticed a loud tick in his drive train. I looked at this rear d and promptly informed him that his chain was about 3 links to short and was pulling his rear d about 5 degrees forward. He said thanks and opined that that could be why he was having problems with his drive train.

The above probably has nothing to do with the topic, but I guess its just an example of what a pace group can do.

My commute is my workout, so I tend to go hard and want to be alone, but I need to do this more often.

Listening to music may help starve off your loneliness. Well, as long as this number doesn't come up. :p

Don't really crave company since my commute is so short. I say "Good Morning" to some sleepy folks as they make their way to their cars and I ride by. If I do talk to anyone, it will be the lady at the donut shop if I stop for croissants and the guard dogs at the used car lot, who whine like puppies as I throw pieces of croissants to them.
Ernest

Move closer to Boston!
The closer you are from the city core, the more drivers are used to seeing cyclists around.

I live in the middle of Boston and Boston drivers in M-F inner city commutes are awesome... :thumb:

Only when the WEEKEND suburb people come to town, and my GOSH they travel with so much excess speed and anger! :eek:

I pass several bikes a day when I ride down the SF peninsula. Oddly, I rarely see the same ones! I try to ride every day, I think that sadly it's a rarity. However, I always make a point of nodding or waving and smiling, even if it's not cool or competitive. Sometimes people talk at a stop light, but it's rare. A good deal more social than driving, though.

More than other cycling commuters on my route, there are several “regulars” on foot or in cars I frequently see, and I have given them nicknames. For example there is the “Fleet Goddess,” a regular runner; and the “Stalker,” a driver in a windowless van that I see in the oncoming direction who gives me a friendly beep. I've also met under various circumstances three regulars and learned their real names: Mary Jane, Louis; and Ed and his dog,the Chief. :D

I find the title to this thread a little strange; maybe the OP has his/her vocabulary mixed up? I ride ALONE, but I don't consider it a LONELY ride. 4 miles of suburban streets with lots to see.

Sometimes you have to break away from the media-driven imagery that only people in groups can be happy and content with life.

At 5:30 in the morning, I'm usually the only one on the road. I only see maybe 3 or 4 cars, and occasionally someone walking their dog. I usually think about my bills and trying to budget my spending for the week. When I commute back home(2PM) I'm too focused on my ride to think about stuff.

Call me old fashioned, or an old soul because I really enjoy my commute to my office, I'm 23. It gives me an opportunity to leave the phone off in my bag, no music to listen to and just really enjoy the ride and scenery. I ride a bike path/walking path most of the way and its almost a 12 mile commute and its really enjoyable.