I am a long time mtn biker and started riding road about a year ago. These days i'm abou 50-50 mtn-road. (Although, with winter coming, probably increase the mtn biking precentages).
Don't engage poor motorists. You wont' be able to change their driving habits and would perhaps only enrage them more. I think any car, even a yaris or any other subcompact could take my carbon-fiber frame, so why risk it. (let alone who knows what those crazy drivers have inside their cars).
I find it most annoying when a car passes you and then stops to turn about 20 feet in front. Has happened numerous times.
A few months ago, as we were riding, a car pulls out of a driveway pretty close in front of us and then stops dead in the street. She was attempting to turn into another driveway 2 up from the one she pulled out of. When one of the guys I was riding with unleashed on her, her response was "You guys were going too fast." (FYI, we were doing about 22 on a 25 mph roadway). She obviously was very poor in gauging how far away we were. (and of course in failing to gauge our manly speed
).
Also, Grilled skeeze.....at times, the shoulders are covered in debris, sand, gravel and other hazards. It can be difficult or worse to ride in some shoulders.
Needless to say, while trees and rocks are hard and can cause many injuries, they don't move!