Have to start my own flat tire thread...
This is a spinoff from the "fewest flats" thread, but I have to start a new thread because YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!
I'm a nice guy. I donate to charity. I love my wife and I'm faithful to her. I treat my children well. Despite that, two years ago I averaged a flat about every 50 miles, including nine in a single century (my fault; I ran over a thorny vine and missed several hidden stickers) and six in one day on my 24-mile round-trip commute.
I'm a long-time rider (30+ years as an adult), and I buy good equipment (most recently Armadillos and Panaracer Pasela TGs). I inflate the tires to the correct pressure. I ride around potholes and obvious glass and sharp stuff. But we live in the land of billions of big thorns (they'll go through a Mr. Tuffy like it's not even there), and the local high school kids drive around on Friday nights drinking beer and throwing the bottles into the street so the cops won't find evidence. Riding in some areas on Saturday mornings in summer is like cycling down a diamond path, with millions of glass shards glittering as you go. I didn't keep close track in 2006, but I noted flats in my training log in '04 and '05, and I think only twice in two years did I go 100 miles without a flat. On another site a few weeks ago, I read a post from a guy in Louisiana who said he'd been riding for FOUR YEARS, more than 12,000 miles, and just got his FIRST flat. He wanted to know if he should re-use the tire or throw it away. Why me, Lord?