Well, what turned out to be a short ride turned out to be more of an adventure. The weather was in the low 80's and winds from the North-West. I wore the standard kit. Before I started to ride, I decided to inflate my tires. Shortly thereafter, I started the ride. My legs felt good from the start and I made it to the top of the descent in a good average time. A short while after beginning the descent, I felt an imbalance feeling from the rear wheel. At first I thought it was the road, but it became apparent that it was something else. I stopped shortly after the first riser and inspected my tires. The rear tire had wear spots, showing the underlying casing. Usually a sign that it will blow out at the slightest impact of debris or a sharp bump in the road. I had two options. Keep going or turn around. I decided to deflate the tire a bit so that the casing had a less chance of blowing out. So, I turned around and after about a minute or two, I noticed that the tire was holding up. I really wanted to get this ride in. My original plan was to go back and do the same ride on Sunday. I was reluctant, so I turned around and headed back down to Keene. I made it down in one piece. I felt good going up the mountain. I was getting hot, but not to the point where I had to claw myself up the climb. I kept the tempo as high as I could, but still remain within my limits. Once I made it over the loop monument, I backed off slightly and kept a good steady tempo for the remainder of the climb. I passed 2 guys going up as I was going down the mountain. While climbing, I caught one of the guys ahead of me. Just as I was about to finish the climb, I got the "bridge" part and just as I was half way across, my tire blew out. It was a steady leak that took about 10 to 15 seconds to deflate. So, I figured, pull over, fix the flat and finish the ride. I started to remove my tools from the saddle bag. The first thing I did was remove the rubber gloves and put them on. The gloves tore and I was only able to cover half of my fingers and hands. I knew that the flat was a puncture, so I checked for the puncture. I had to put something in there to block the puncture from flatting the replacement innertube. I ended up using a 5 dollar bill. It worked like charm. As I was inflating the tire, the gaskets inside the inflator blew out. I didn't know how to reassemble it, so I did the best I could. I had 2 more CO2 cartridges left. So I used the second to last and was able to get about 20 or 30 pounds of pressure into the tire. I was thinking, should I risk putting more air or ride the way it was. I ended up riding it the way it was. Putting most of my weight on the front wheel. Suffice it to say, I was able to finish the ride and didn't need to call for help. Concentration was good for the most part. Ailments consisted of slight right hand numbness. Balance and Form felt good today. Gear is working well, despite the flat fixing issues. Other notes, I saw 3 other guys riding today.