It depends.
For example:
1) When I lived in central Alberta,
this (see photo below) was about 250 km away. Sure, I could have cycled out there to ride on those roads, with that scenery ... I've cycled further distances than that ... but I preferred to drive there and then ride.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7605871338498/
2) I have both a mtn bike and a road bicycle, but prefer riding my road bicycle. When I'm faced with about 3-4 km of
this (see photo below), and worse, especially when it rains, in order to get from where I currently live in Australia to a paved road, I feel reluctant to ride my road bicycle to the paved road. So I pop my bicycle into the back of my 4WD and drive out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/1430288...7619719051119/
3) Manitoba is as flat as a tabletop. When I lived there, if I wanted to train on a hill, I had to travel 150 km to the nearest hill. Again, I could have ridden, but when I wanted to ride the hill, I preferred to concentrate on the hill climbing rather than riding distance. So I rented a car (I was car-ownership-free in Manitoba) and drove out there to spend the day on the hill.
4) Many of the events I've participated in don't start from my doorstep, or anywhere near it. One such event took place in France (the Paris-Brest-Paris) ... a bit difficult to ride there from Canada. Another one took place in Australia (Great Southern Randonnee) before I moved here. Several have taken place in various parts of the US and Canada. When I lived in central Alberta, my cycling clubs (I was a member of 4 of them) were each based 160+ km away, and held most of their events in their local areas. Lots of driving, flying, taking trains, etc. etc.
5) In addition to events, I enjoy cycletouring. Some of my tours have been in my immediate area, but there's a whole world out there to explore and I don't like limiting myself to my specific, current area. Most of my tours have involved flying to another country with my bicycle to tour.
6) But sometimes, in some of the places I've lived, for some of the rides I've done, I have ridden right out of my driveway.
So ... if I thought "Hey it's a good time to go on a bike ride.", what I opted to do after that thought would ... depend.