Originally Posted by
monk
Tough as it is, you're better off just to ignore them. Just yelling is no big deal. Throwing something at you might be different . . .
Exactly. While all the snappy comebacks (and even the suggestions of waving and smiling) make for a nice read, it's not advisable to engage with these types of troublemakers, at all. You want to try to be smart back at them? There are some people out there that refuse to lose a verbal battle, and if they feel you've insulted them, will resort to physically attacks. And if you wave and smile, some people will get aggressive because they may think you're mocking them, which you are.
Whenever I hear someone yelling while I'm riding, I always look to see who it is. If I see that they're trying to insult me or cause trouble, I instantly set my brain on "ignore". If they were to try to do something worse, I'd try to find a safe way to escape - thankfully, this hasn't happened to me yet in my 20+ years of riding.
It's best to think of these people as potentially dangerous wild animals. Don't make eye contact, don't do anything to incite them. Just try to get away from them as soon as you can.