As I often say: country lanes are the most dangerous for cycling. The article states that rural roads carry only 30% of cycle traffic but they accounted for 58% of pedal cyclist fatalities in 2013, which means that the remaining 42% is spread over the other roads including trunk roads such as the A23 which account for 70% of cycle traffic, probably because on wide straight roads cyclists are more visable and more care being taken in towns and cities. I have always been puzzled by the club always staying as clear as possible of main roads.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29878233