While straightening up my desk/work area at home, I found three inner tubes. I have a code for myself: bound with a rubber band means patched or otherwise airtight. Not bound with a rubber band means it needs patching. So I have three inner tubes I have to patch. I can remember getting one flat over the summer, but when did the others occur? I think getting a flat is now such a non-event that I forget it readily. And that seems like a good thing unless I want to keep track of how often I get flats.

Well, maybe one is from someone I met on the road. Occasionally, I'll give my spare to a pour unprepared soul and take their punctured tube in exchange.

I realize I manage my tubes similarly to how I manage my socks. I keep more than I need. When I need to change (which I do every day with socks), I do so, and all my socks are generic replacements.