Dave J wrote:

Images of pranged airplanes certainly come to mind, but I think
maybe sometimes people are just a little too cautious. (It's like that
NYT article posted here last week. The author said that GA is getting
safer, but people are getting more risk-averse faster.)


Being cautious about something you do not have the confidence (or
competence) to do is a good thing. But not taking the steps to
increase (or maintain) your level of competence is not wise.
You could take off on a nice calm day and come back with winds
gusting to 25 (happened to me a number of times).