Seems like you could stay in the 50 ring all the time. Why even go to the 34 ring, except for a significant hill?
With 10 and 11 speed cassettes and their small steps between cogs, what the world needs is a FD that will shift between 55 and 26 rings, a chain flexible enough for cross-chaining, with electronic shifting that allows purely sequential shifting. Then you could run 55/26 x 11-23 10 or 11 speed. Huge gear range, no overlap, adequately small steps for commuting, and simple "up down" shifting.
I'm with you. I NEVER ride in my 34 and I mean never unless that one hill is just killing me so I will get a moment, drop down into the 34, bust out the rest of the hill. Once to the top I go right back to the 50. I stay in the 50 at all cost, well besides that one or two hills every now and then.