Ahhh, much better. Alllll the way down to the river, then cliiiiimbing back up through Poolesville and back to Boyds. Managed to finish before the sun set (FTW!) and before the temps got too cool. Even the 8.5 miles on the towpath along the Potomac were fabulous, with the light and falling leaves and so on. On the other hand, the experiment of returning on Barnesville Road was a complete bust. We did it, but it was NOT pleasant. Narrow road with most cars well over the 40mph speed limit AND a bunch of climbs with said cars whizzing by. Not a great spur-of-the-moment decision -- should have gone another half mile to Old Baltimore Road and returned on Slidell. Won't make that mistake again, but, on the other hand, experiments are important ... Felt pretty good and strong enough on the climbs but also recognizing that not only are the days shorter, so is my conditioning... Not riding 40s and 50s on the weekend any more and can really feel it on the mid-week 30s.