Good to read that you got back on the bike and into the route. A general rule of thumb in life is: People are morons. This extends to the road, too - and people get all weird and testy when you threaten their precious space / vehicle space. As others have rightly said, ignore it or fight back with kindness - some of these raging cagers get so incredibly wound up it's a bad move to entice them into more too, we might be on the upper moral hand, but we are still vulnerable to their ton+ of metal and plastic that they're quite willing to throw in our way.

I try to smile and wave, I don't get much hassle and/or abuse, but having been in various very 'male' environments, such things don't actually bother me - a thick skin was grown in highschool and stuck since. Only where I feel my life is actually threatened or physical stuff starts happening is when I get iffy. Just ride safe and as long as you're withing your rights, then they're wrong. That's good enough for me.

Good luck, keep riding!