I've always pushed high gears on the big ring, but after changing my chain rings, and rear sprocket recently due to my chain being too excessively worn, I now find for some unknown reason I spend most of my time on the small chain ring yet apart from the large ring being one tooth smaller than what I had, now a 52, nothing else has changed.
I find that I can now keep up a good average speed, 17mph, and a high cadence which I have always struggled to do. I find that I can respond to the slightest easing of the wind or someone pulling away far easier in the small ring by just pedalling that little bit faster and accelerating quicker. Now what I find is, I'm always in the small ring, on the flat into wind or no wind, up gentle slopes etc and only go into the large ring, downhill, or when I go for an all out effort or on the flat with a good breeze behind me.
Why my riding just changed like this I do not know but it was just overnight. Incidently I have always read that most of your riding will be using the large ring, but a book on racing I read at the weekend quotes that there is no need to use the large ring unless you do 20mph or more which is what I find that I am doing now.