That's loneliness.
When I set out to do this trip, I thought "I ought to go for as long as possible since airfare is the highest cost". Then I thought "I need a challenge. Hmmmm.....I'll go alone!"
Then I thought, "I'll make so many new friends, I've always been able to strike up a conversation."
What I didn't realize?
That if everyday you move onto a new town, as one does when cycle touring, this means that those conversations are only ever a day long. You never develop depth of relationships.
I'm learning that this is a different style of travel, the kind where you see true acts of kindness from people. These are the acts that are bestowed on a traveler, someone you most likely will never see again. Already I have been the recipient of so much goodwill that my breath stops in my throat to think about it. I doubt I will ever be able to repay what I have been so cheerfully given. And if it takes a little loneliness to be able to see this side of humanity, well, my family and friends are only a phone call away.
