Faux:

Get kevlar belted tires, or a kevlar type tire (specialized armadillo, nimbus etc.) as lauren suggested.

Patching tubes is personal preference. For many people patching tubes is a religion. I remember I was on a ride and a person got a flat tire and the tube had 16 patches on it..... I do a lot of solo rides 125 miles + and never patch tubes, unless I run out of spare tubes on a ride. I use fairly punture resistance tires. My commuting bike I have specialized nimbus and have not had a flat since I put the tires on my bike last December. The only time that I have not ridden the nimbus tires is when I have my nokian studded tires on the bike.

If you are going to patch tubes on a ride practice before you need to patch a tire.