Originally Posted by Doug64

Fixing a puncture (changing tubes) is not a big deal. My wife can remove the wheel, Remove and check the tire for cause of puncture, replace the tube, inflate the tire, and remount it on the bike in about 20 minutes; less time for a front wheel. We've had up to 13 punctures on a 3-month tour; goatheads accounted for about half of those. We've also done other tours of about the same length, and had from 0-4 punctures. We ran Continental Gatorskins for quite a while, but have switched to standard Schwalbe Marathons, and really don't get too concerned about punctures. Tubes are patched in camp that night.

Just find a nice spot and lay the bike down. On this 6-week tour I had 4 punctures in the last 2 days of the tour from goatheads. The last one was going up the driveway to my mother-in-law's farm in Central California Actually this puncture made my day. As I was fixing the tire, my wife struck up a conversation with a non-English speaking man through his young son who was acting as interpreter. When the gentleman asked my wife, "why do you travel by bicycles"; she answered, "so we can meet people like you." The smile on his face made me very proud of my wife!