As we all know, bicycling shoes are not made for walking. Many bicyclists attempting to do so are often identified with the ballet. But this is not why you should carry a boot.
All of us who ride in the winter know that your feed can get very cold on those morning commutes. But what good will a single boot do?
Actually, the boot you carry is for your tire! Now as you try to picture a tire climbing into a boot, let me describe this very special boot. To construct a boot, take an old tire, cut off the bead, and cut the tire into one to two inch segments. Each segment is a boot! A very compact, lightweight boot.
If you ride frequently, once every five to ten years (more often if you frequent bad roads) you will suffer a flat involving a significant cut in your tire. You could put in a new tube, but it will eventually protrude through the cut and meet the same fate as its predecessor. Aaahh...tucked away under your patch kit is your...BOOT! Place it inside the tire, but outside the tube, and ride on!
But what if you do not heed this article, and on March 15, 1997, while attempting the Azalea Festival Ride on the infamous Cracker Swamp Road, IT happens. Solution 1 requires that you were not totally irresponsible and are carrying a spare tube. Using your handy boy scout knife, or your teeth if you're desperate, cut a boot out of your old tube. To provide strength, use several layers, unless you were fortunate enough to be riding a thornproof tube. Solution 2 requires that you have access to duct tape. A roll of tape is more bulky to carry than a boot, and hardware stores are sparse out in the swamp, so don't count on this solution. Solution 3: As a desperate last stab, carry your bike to the next country store. Buy a package of gum and chew the full pack well. After masticulating out all the juices, take it out and age. Spread the gum over the cut inside the tire, reassemble, and pray.
But, be smart, carry a boot!
-- Roger Pierce, Sept 1985 "Pedal Patter"