wrote:

i pay because i have the $20 more easily than i have the 20-ish
minutes fixing a flat - i've fixed flats before, it's not rocket
science

To each his own, but I concur with those who say you should get a patch
kit and a frame pump and do your own. Surely the time you spend getting
the bike to the shop, filling out paperwork, waiting for their employee to
fix it, returning to pick the bike up, and whatever incidentals I've
missed, all adds up to more than "20-ish minutes."
I had four flats in ten miles of riding last fall, way out in the
middle of nowhere (Elberta, Utah). Patched the first flat, and the tube
because it had a good-sized hole in it. Started to put the thing back
together, and had the stem blow. (This was a metal Presta stem. It tore
loose where it attached to the rubber.) Replaced the tube (another thing
you should do: carry a spare), rode about five miles, had another flat.
Checked to see if it was from the same cause as the first. Nope,
completely different position on the wheel. Patched again, headed for the
nearest town. Limped into town on a slow leak, and was supremely
fortunate that there was a very good bike shop just blocks away. [Well
deserved plug: it was Downhill Cyclery in Payson, Utah.] Got there only
to find that a new tire and tube cost more money than I had on me, but
fortunately I have the number of one of my credit cards memorized and the
guy in the shop hand-entered it. Put the new rubber on, and finished the
ride.
Moral: you may not have your next flat close to a bike shop. Carry a
patch kit and pump, MINIMUM. Consider using Kevlar tires, armor strips,
and/or Slimed tubes. (You'll get a lot of debate on their relative merits
on this NG.) If you're going far afield, carry spare tube, or two, and
consider a spare tire as well. Also carry money or plastic. Were you
ever a Boy Scout? Remember the motto?

Bill

__o | Be prepared, and be careful not to do
_`\(,_ | Your good deeds when there's no one watching you.
(_)/ (_) | --Tom Lehrer