So true.

We've just finished a credit card tour of Vancouver Island and each of us had an inordinate number of flats riding the Trans-Canada Highway which had a large amount of debris ont he shoulders.

The causes of each flat were different. A pinchflat for me after running over a large piece of gravel; a piece of sheet metal shaped like a spear for Machka; a Michelin wire for Machka; a thorn from a bramble for me (with another right next door set to have another go); and a staple for me right at the ferry that brought us back to the mainland.

We have our routines in fixing flats, and they include aligning the valve with the brand on the casing, inflating the punctured tube (so it's good and fat) and checking the position of the hole against the tyre. Pinch flats, of course, are really obvious if there are two holes.

But one of the key elements in reducing flats is to watch where you are riding, and try to avoid debris. In some cases, it becomes almost impossible (as was the case on some parts of the Trans-Canada despite the wide shoulders). But in many cases, glass, gravel and rubber from blown truck tyres are quite obvious and can be avoided.