Cars honk because the people inside them are extremely impatient. I ride a moped to and from work, well, I ride the moped when I'm not communiting on my bike. Anyway, people feel the need to honk because I'm "only" doing 35mph. My advice, ignore the honking cars because these people don't understand that roads are shared.

As for few fellow cyclists, the amount of cyclists depends on where you are located. I just moved to Phoenix (from Chicago) and there are WAY more cyclists in Phoenix. On my ride this Saturday, I saw at least 30 other cyclists.

Rural communities seem to have more dogs that like to chase bikes. I don't really have any advice other than keep track of where the dogs live, and a) try and avoid the dogs, or b) be ready to sprint.