I just throw in a fresh tube because I refuse to fart around with patching when it's pitch black, 37 degrees and raining.
I carry 2 tubes, and I patch the flatted one when I get home, then put it back in my seat pack for the next time. (Ultra Gatorskin tires assure that the 'next times' are few and far between.)
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"I feel like my world was classier before I found cyclocross."
- Mandi M.