Today I rode the fixie to work, for the first time in months. Thanks to a new pair of rat-traps from jimg, a few minutes in the shop, and a little encouragement from my lethargic body, I hopped on the Dutchess and got moving.
Within fifteen minutes, I rode over something sharp and ripped the rear tyre (it's always the rear!), and had to boot the tyre in order to keep moving. Of course I didn't have a spare tube with me, but fortunately I had some big broad patches and a tube of vulcanizing fluid.