No I'm well aware of the flatness of my area. My point being, I like to ride as high as a ratio that I can handle safely so I am constantly working on getting stronger. This is all relative to the topography of your area.
I used to be this way. When I first started riding a bike again as an adult, my mountain bike commuter, I kept it on the highest gear on the bike, the biggest ring to the smallest cog, because it actually felt like a "workout." But it killed my knees quickly, particularly my surgically repaired knee.
Then, when I switched to SSFG, I kept the small ratio that came on the bike, 42/17. Not only did riding become more pleasurable, but I got a much better workout spinning at a higher cadence than I ever did by mashing on a super high gear.