Cycling in small town Ontario?

I should mention, I never biked in a small town, this is just out of curiosity as an urbanist living in Toronto. Obviously, I know cycling infrastructure is meh in many cities and in car dependent towns across the province, so, I’m definitely expecting more unpleasant answers. However, there are a few things about small towns in Ontario that I think might give them an edge over say, suburban areas around Toronto or Ottawa. For those who have cycled in small towns, I’m curious to know if these factors below impact your cycling experience.

• I find the grid street system is much more consistent in most small towns across the province, so, even if bike lanes are lacking on major roads in these towns, how are the side streets as an alternative? (I still think we need to add protected bike lanes on major roads though!)

• Small towns are relatively compact, along with the more consistent grid street layout, I’d imagine this makes it easier to navigate and do errands on bike?

• Trails connecting the town (places like Orangeville, Collingwood, and Elora). To be fair, many suburbs have nice trails too, granted, the small size of rural towns probably gives them the edge.

• The main streets. Suburban cities like Markham, Whitby, and Scarborough have these areas too, but due to their size, I wouldn’t say those walkable areas have the same “impact” on their respective municipalities than smaller towns “in the country”.

These are just generalizations and HIGHLY anecdotal observations on my part. I’m curious, those who cycle or have cycled in small towns, have these impacted your experiences?