Well i guess to me it seemed like it warranted a flight. I also don't always take a flight back home. What is far enough to warrant a flight? It is very much about the journey, a destination is nice to have though, as in having some kind of goal, and a place from where i am able to make it home.
Right now i am thinking about two options, but both involve a flight again:
take a plane to southern Spain or Portugal and end up home, either by bike or somewhere close enough to go by train
take a train to Austria or Italy then cycle to Greece or Turkey then back home by plane
Of course both options could be seen as unnecessary decadence.
Taking a bike on a plane is quite easy, i think. And it is also cheaper than a train, like half of it (of course all depends on the travel). Buses... yeah. That is an option i kind of want to ignore.
edit: I took 6 flights since 2019, 4 were one way, one was a return flight.