skypimp,
As you progress through your aviation career you'll come to understand that instead of 'right or wrong' your decisions are merely risk management equations. For any given flight you have to weigh safety, legality, convenience, comfort & necessity... and ultimately make decisions that balance these items in the most safety conscious manner.

In your case, what was the justification of climbing to 8000' for a 75nm flight? If there was no reason, then maybe the risk wasn't worth it. If there was an operational rational (wind/fuel burn/turbulence) then perhaps it was worth the slight increase in the risk of icing.

Just another example: If I said, 'take that 172 over to XYZ where there is an 1800' strip' you'd probably say, 'I can do that, no problem'. Now if you fly to XYZ and suddenly there was a 4000' runway parallel to it, which runway would you choose? What if the short runway is right next to the FBO and you're late for a meeting? What is an acceptable level of risk for you in this situation?

Have a well thought out rational for every decision you make, and if there's no good reason otherwise always choose the option that carries less risk.