Yesterday on my way home I had my first experience of this (I've done about 50 commutes so far) and wanted to see what other people would do in this situation. Sorry in advance for any offending language.

I'm riding along this two lane arterial road. It's fairly busy with traffic taking up both lanes. At the same place every day there is a line of parked cars going for about 300m so I have to ride wide in the lane to avoid getting doored. While I am going pretty much as fast as I can I'm probably about 10mph slower than the flow of traffic in the outside lane.

With about 50m to go before the end of the line I hear a honking right behind me. This angers me so I throw up my arm as if to say "bugger off". There is a pause and the honking continues. By this time I've passed the line of parked cars and I'm able to go to the side to let the traffic pass. As she passes she gives me a talking to through the open passenger window. Me still being angry shout her down with a F*** you. She drives off and I start to regret my response (Chances are if she is a commuter we'll be meeting again).

I think what I should have done is to ride exactly as I did but without the reaction. Just let her honk and let her say her thing. My other alternative is to use the sidewalk at that location which is possible albeit a bit more inconvenient.

Is this road 2-lanes in each direction, or 2-lanes total?

here's what i did during my commute yesterday. almost exactly the same circumstances as you...a women starts honking at me. i literally have about 50 feet to go before i can pass the parked cars and get out of the door zone. but she keeps honking. of course, she rushes past me only to stop at a red light about 200 feet away. as i pass i squirt my water bottle all over her driver's side window.

bad move, i'm sure. but i don't care. it's satisfying, it's not dangerous, and it made her pay attention.

So, I don't get it. In my area I have to go 5.5 miles down a REALLY busy 4 lanes going each way road, or 5.5 miles down a busy 3 lanes each way road. I've been riding on the sidewalk, but everyone here says I have the right to a lane? Idk guys, people here in west pam beach are pretty crazy drivers.

Slow down and take the lane. The motorist is obviously warning you of some dangerous condition up ahead.

Steel_is_real I feel the same as you do I think. Often when people get mean with me my first reaction is to get reactionary. I've been doing my best to just keep on truckin' and not let it get me down. My commute is mostly on 4-5 lane highways at 45+ mph. A large portion of the traffic are tractor trailers and I'm quite surprised that they are the ones that give me the largest berth. I have to take a lane for about 7-9 miles since there is no berm at all.

Just keep on truckin'!

Just look at it this way... if they honk you know they see you, and that's a good thing.

Ignore them. If I posted something in this thread that made you think I was an idiot, wouldn't you just ignore it? (Maybe I'd better rethink that question!!) None of us is going to change the mind of someone that is so totally correct as these drivers seem to be. They are driving a large, deadly weapon, even though the general public doesn't see it as one, even when used intentionally.
The last time I commuted, I was almost forced into a faster lane by a truck that squeezed me out, but he also did similar maneuvers to two other cars within a half mile. It's not that we're on bikes, it's just that the people behind the wheel that do this, do this to everyone.

Sorry you went though that steel is real, I just had the same thing happen to me the other day. It's hard not going off on these people, but I suspect that most of them feel that there actions are justified when we get reactionary. BTW, I have gone ape s!@# on drivers, it feels good but doesn't further our cause any.

PhattTyre said it best--if they honk, they see you. I'm worried about the bozos who don't honk and try to get by without giving me any room.

While it is frustrating to deal with honking and general aggressiveness, we do have a choice in how we deal with it. Sometimes counting to 10 before reacting provides enough time for the situation to pass.

It's two lanes in each direction.

BTW, thanks for the suggestions so far everyone. I guess there IS a bright side to being honked at (they can see you)

Motorists are still honking their horns and shouting out windows?

I must have become oblivious.

smile and wave, smile and wave. That's how I deal with it. Usually, it kind of shocks them into docility or something.

After you are past the line of parked cars and can safely move right, make a grand sweeping gesture of "Noooooo, after YOU . . . Madame".

If the other lane was clear, you might have tried waving them by. Or, if it was safe to do so, moving over a bit and waving them by in the same lane.
Of course, you had the right to the lane, but it never hurts to be polite (as long as you don't compromise your own safety to do so).

My guess is that her attitude would change completely if you could simply wheel up to her at a light and say "Thank you for waiting, I hate riding in the lane like that but am at the risk of hitting a door if I don't in that section". The problem is that they usually just honk, cuss at you and drive off; which makes me want to throw a multitool through their rear window.

I like the idea of squirting the water, but you would have to be careful who you do this to.

Wave say hi how are you ... smile be cheerful. It drives them crazy.

Joe

yeah, Being overly nice seems to get them more than yelling and being mad. I think a lot of them just like to get a rise out of the person on the "inferior" machine. Getting pissed and throwing things just makes things worse for the next cyclist they tailgate, honk, and buzz by. I like catching someone at the next light, or something, and thanking them for not killing me.

"You came a little close to me back there and I just wanted to thank you for not killing me. I enjoy my life and I appreciate you not ending it prematurely."

The calmer the better. They won't know how to answer.

This is a non-issue IMO.

The OP was farther left, avoiding parked car doors. I wouldn't advise moving into the door zone to be nice to following traffic. This road had 2 travel lanes, and according to the OP there was only 300m of parked cars.

If the "honker" is behind, sometimes an arm out+down, palm back (slow/stop signal) is handy. If the "honker" is passing or in front, the smile+wave works fo me.

I also would not get into the habit of sidewalk riding, which is very dangerous IMO.

Say to yourself "Gee, you're right, I SHOULD be taking more of the lane!" and move left.

I rarely get honked at, but one thing I make sure I do NOT do when it happens is to give them more room. You don't want to reinforce their bad habits.

Yeah I get similar treatment about every day....bunch of buffoons tailgating me while screaming out the window.

Sometimes I'm half tempted to blow a nose rocket at one...

Then we have the horn honkers...usually after a while I just start screaming "BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"....I doubt it helps, but it's about as absurd as what they are doing.

whenever I get honked at, I just use the middle finger.

next time you do it, make sure the drivers window is open, that will teach her a lesson.

omg, that is funny! I'd crash trying to do it, though

Jackasses aside...

Sometimes folks from other countries honk pre-emptively in an attempt to diffuse a potential traffic problem before it occurs.

People don't always honk with malice.