I'm lucky in Tucson. I only have to deal with traffic for about 3 miles and there is a bike lane for the entire section. After that, there is a 2 lane paved bike path that takes me all the way into the campus where I shower at the rec center and then it's only a mile to my office. I ride at least 2 days, and try for more when I can.
We moved to Tucson from Lafayette, IN (NOT A BIKE FRIENDLY town, no matter what the signs say). Tucson is the exact opposite, bike lanes and paths all over. Prior to Lafayette, I lived in MI nad worked for a variety of bike shops during my undergrad and grad work. I commuted most of the time to campus and loved it.
When I first started commuting here, I was using Conti GP 3000s. Conti's had always been great tires for me, but in Tucson, it was almost a flat per ride. The first one, is had a new tube installed in no time and started pumping up the tire, when the seal on my pump blew (not good!). Later that week, I had another flat and with a new pump had no worries. When I pulled the pump from the stem, the stem core shot out into the street!!! Luckily, I had another tube. Now I ride Armadillos and haven't had a flat yet (knock on wood!)