I went to the airport today with forecasts of decent winds and strong thermals to 7500'MSL but by the time I got my wing set up, wind were aroun 15 gusting to 25, which is faster than I am comfortable taking off in (could make me take of before I start going down the runway). With predicted winds of 10-15 straight west I was planning to fly to Lake Michigan. I had planned out a flight to the beach. With winds aloft at 25-20 mph all I would have to do is stay airborne for 2 hours to make the 50 mile journey, but getting airborne was unfortunatly unsafe. I will be heading back tomorrow afternoon after teaching sunday school (should be able to take off around 2pm). Tomorrow's forcast is for winds of 10 kts on the ground, 15 at cloudbase of ~7k MSL from the northwest. This might be a great chance for me to try flying home, something I have wanted to do for a long time. There should be other pilots there tomorrow looking to go XC, so it could be a fun day if we get several pilots together. I will post some updates in a few days. The image shows possible routes for east wind to the beach and nw wind to get me home (Island Lake LZ). Click the image to enlarge.