I had two flats the first time I rode my bike, one, then the other about 15 minutes later. I was about a quarter mile from a bike store, so I went and bought myself a tube, installed it, and kept riding.
The second flat tire inspired me to get a tougher tube, so when i walked into the bike store for the second time that's what I asked for. Something puncture resistant. He didn't have anything quite like what I asked for, but he had some cheap Chinese tubes that he stocked. Thick rubber. "Poor quality" he says.
I took one and rode my bike with no punctures for a week. I went back and got two more a week later. I also added Continental GatorSkin tires. That was ~5 years ago
I only just suffered my first flat tire last week.
