My story certainly isn't very exciting.
A few years ago, I used my road bike to figure out what kind of gear might work best for all-around riding while building up my FG, and liked 63" (38/16). So I used 38/16 at first, which worked out to more like 60" on the 26"x1.5" tires (it's a converted mountain bike). That turned out to be too much work in the winter with studded tires, so I dropped it to about 58" (38/17). Once spring rolled around and I was in my strongest riding shape to date, I gradually bumped up my summer gearing to 71", where it has stayed to this day. I'm now using larger sprockets to help with efficiency and chain wear, but I can't say how much of a real difference it has made in those areas. Currently 45/16 in the spring/summer/fall and 42/18 in the winter, which allows me to keep using the same chain.