I have to agree with those who've stated that riding on clean pavement (where motor traffic sweeps the road clean) has reduced my flat incidence to almost zero. It's just a fact of life for me.

If sand or gravel shows up on the pavement, I know there might be hidden glass or sharp objects in it to mess up my ride.

Part of the problem on this particular road is that it also leads to the local county dump (landfill and transfer station). Lots of trucks with who knows what in them including agricultural debris. Other roads similarly laid out have not been as bad as this one. They tend to be swept clean as you mentioned.

I don't think I mentioned VC in the pants cuff thread... did I?

Anyway, it is my belief that most cyclists do not know about VC and are not aware of cyclists' arguments against bike lanes. So my main purpose on this forum is to introduce and explain these schools of thought, to the best of my ability. Their application is so broad, including avoiding collisions and flats, I find many opportunities to introduce them in various threads. I'm also trying to understand why cyclists continue to support bike lanes even after learning the arguments against them.

I'm not that interested in brakes -- as long as they're Ultegra, Dura-Ace, Chorus or Record they're fine with me -- and I'll probably get into Lance's chances when the season really gets going and we can start assessing things with some accuracy.