Decided to leave a bit later than I would have normally liked due to some rain chances up in Burlington at the end of the ride that was forecast to push through before I would get there in the evening. This worked out beautifully, as I was under a thick blanket of clouds but didn't ride through any rain other than some very light drizzle the first time I crossed into Vermont. Despite never really climbing any proper mountains or a long climb of much more than 300 feet, this route was very hilly and had some extremely steep grades. The wind was strong and was from the WSW at the beginning and as the route trended ENE for a bit, I enjoyed a tailwind. Mostly though as I turned to mostly going north with the wind at my side, I was protected by forest and hills and so didn't fight it too much. Other than at the end going through some open valleys and if I had to jog west. I felt really good this entire ride, and did very well with hydration and eating constantly. The temperatures held pretty steady in the sixties and I was very comfortable just wearing my sun sleeves. The only real route error I experienced was after Vergennes where I stopped at a supermarket for the last stop of the ride. The route went down an abandoned road that was sorta passable at first but then just became overgrown. No signs to be found, which was interesting. I ended up turning around and heading to the highway via a short connector road. Reaching the other end of the road I was supposed to take, it was obvious it had not connected at any time in the recent past. The gravel throughout the route was extremely fast and packed down, faster rolling than a lot of the pavement which was uneven due to cracks and patches. There was rain the day before and that allowed the vehicles to pack it smooth. Traffic was very light the whole ride, mostly I was riding all alone on gravel or a paved back road all day, mostly riding through active farms. I approached Burlington in the dark and rode through the path system and quiet streets and was in a great mood, despite the fact that I was kinda ready to be out of the wind which was still howling at the end.