Have you done this at all? 'Course it helps if your home airport is directly connected to local transit trains, etc. as a shortcut ..which ours recently got the connection built just over a month ago.

But maybe it's because am not a car driver, and hence find large airports intimidating in terms of outgoing and incoming car traffic, plus many are usually close to major fast highways/interchanges.

But here's a suggestion of a bike route cycling near Zurich aiport during a layover. http://www.nationalpost.com/life/story.html?id=1817773

And by the way, you can cycle in park-like land with benches, near the Vancouver Airport and pick blackberries to your heart's content...