Yes, actually, I am unprepared for a flat. Unfortunately. Fortunately I haven't had the pleasure of having one while on a ride. Only flat I've had since getting back into cycling 6 months ago was the spontaneous flat on my front Felt tire about 5 minutes after airing it up, while it was sitting in my garage 2 weeks ago. Since purchasing my first road bike 4 weeks ago, I've bought a rear light, a floor pump, a patch kit, and cycling shorts. We all gotta start somewhere, and I can't buy everything all at once. A frame pump will likely be coming soon, along with a larger seat bag as I can't fit anything else in my current bag after tire levers, multi-tool, keys, cards, and phone. No room for anything else - no tubes, CO2 kit, nothing.

But since my first attempt at patching a tube was unsuccessful, I would still probably think "oh sh*t" if I had a flat out on the road, partly because I would be scared of another failed patch attempt, and partly because it's simply a pain in the arse for someone like me who is not experienced with repairing flats.

But whether I was prepared or not for a flat makes no difference to my original anecdote of the situation.