I've recently started to ride with flat pedals on all my bikes - road, gravel, vintage, etc. - and discovered that because I'm much more confident not being clipped in, I end up enjoying my rides a lot more. I've been riding clipless for over five years but never quite got over the fear of not being able to unclip fast enough in an emergency. I always felt a little on edge being clipped in.

Am I off for feeling this way? It seems that every "real" cyclist I see uses clipless with no worries. Certainly every cyclist in our local group rides seems confident in them. Are there really any major disadvantages to riding with flat pedals?