I had the most spectacular flat of my life on January 1 - a sharp stone kicked up by a rider in front of me ripped a half-inch wide hole in my sidewall. No flats the rest of the year but that's because I've been sidelined with injuries for much of the time.



That's a ParkTools boot under the rip - it held for a 25 mile ride home and saved my a$$. Those boots are light, cheap, and very useful. Don't leave home without one.