I like riding with friends, female or male. I'm not particularly chatty while riding (except with my SO, who doesn't mind riding at my pace), but I do have a couple of friends from my local cycling group I enjoy chatting with pre-ride and during stops, it's nice to catch up with them because we only see each other at rides. I have a friend from work who also commutes on her bike, sometimes we ride together on the way home but we don't chat much (considering we chatted through the workday :v).
Riding in a group of people you don't know can be intimidating at first. I'm an introvert and during my first rides I got really uncomfortable when people spoke to me, asking me stuff, etc (I kept wondering what possessed me to attend in the first place). But as time passed and I got used to some of the "regulars" I started talking and getting to know them, and now I kinda miss them when I go to a ride and they're not there lol.