Went for my first desert ride of the season today. During the summer we ride the mountains and Pismo, because the desert is TO HOT! It was good to get out there again now that it is cooling off a little. It was a beautiful fall day, with temps in the 80's and a few high clouds. Anyway, about 20 miles into the ride I nailed a barrel cactus with my right front tire. These things have spines about 3" long, sharp as a needle, and they couldn't be stronger if they were made of steel. I had 40 OF THEM in my front, and several in the rear (ITP Holeshot XCT's front and rear). I run fix-a-flat in my tires all the time, so I pulled out all the spines I could and kept right on riding. The tire only lost about half a pound of air. Once again, XCT's and fix-a-flat saved my bacon!!