5 laps of Southfarm....

Decided I'd go riding by myself this morning instead of road riding with the group from the shop. Went with them last week and had a good time, but I'm just not very comfortable on that bike... makes my shoulders hurt and still haven't found a saddle that agrees with me for it.
So, I went to Southfarm with the goal of riding 5 laps. The most I ever remember riding out there at one time was 3, so it seemed like a decent goal. It was a great day for it too, not windy, and not too warm, until the end. Had some bad luck and made some stupid mistakes at the end of the first lap though. My rear tire started going flat on the climb up "Jackass Mountain" so I sprinted to the top to fix it. I didn't really have any idea what could have done it, since it's just gravel roads and all. Sat down to patch it. I noticed my tire is wearing a bit thin, and has some slices in the tread in a few spots, so I figured that's what caused it. I booted the tire, found what I thought was the hole, patched that, and pumped 'er back up with a my stupid mini-pump. Man those take forever. Got it back up to 55psi or so (just guessing on that), and I hear a little hiss. Crap, guess it wasn't that after all. There was a little thorn through the tire. No idea where that came from. Took it apart, patched the tube again and remounted the tire. Pumped it about halfway with the pump, then got out the CO2, because I was lazy. Ah... instantly up to about 70psi. Turn the wheel around to make sure the tire seated ok, and shit. Somehow a rock got wedged between the rim and the bead of the tire. So I had to take it apart a 3rd time. Finally got things back together, and rode the remaining 4 laps without any problems at all, besides having to let some air out of that tire. I was feeling strong and even considering doing 6 laps, but on the last time around, it got much hotter, and I started fading. Did the 5 though, which was the goal. Somewhere around 35 miles. So yay.
I'm trying to work on my endurance since that has always been my weakness. The new bike continues to be nice. I'll get some pictures of it as soon as my darn camera comes back.