The 2024 Pennsylvania Super Randonneur Series continues with the Four State 400K (aka the 4S4) on Saturday, May 11, starting at 4am. Registration is open until Saturday, May 4, at 11:59pm. Updates have been made to the cue sheet (version 4) and RWGPS file (updated 2024-05-1 09:53:38 EDT). Be sure to check this blog again before the event in case any additional changes are made.
The event starts and finishes at the Chamounix Carriage House in Philadelphia and will take riders through Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. In its second edition, the route features several areas known by PA Randos, including the Brandywine Valley, Lancaster County, Oley Valley, the Reading Prong, Bucks County, and the hills around the Musconetcong Gorge in NJ.
I completed a pre-ride of the 4S4 on Sunday, April 28, and found the course to be in good condition. It was a beautiful day with temperatures that climbed into the 80s in the city, but thankfully remained cooler in the mid 70s in the countryside. Spring (and even summer?!) was in the air. The pollen is heavy as the flowers and trees are in full bloom. As the route approaches the farmland of Lancaster County, riders will begin to pick up the scent of ripe fields that have been recently fertilized for the season.
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| Slifer Valley Rd in Bucks County PA (mile 171) |
There were a few road closures that required detours. The cuesheet is updated with these detours included. A couple closures were spotted before the pre-ride, so the Elkton and Bird-in-Hand controls were slightly modified in order to shave off the couple of miles that were added to other parts of the route by closure detours. The Elkton MD control, previously a convenience store in town, is now a postal control at a truck stop on the northern edge of town. I found this to be a pleasant change because it allows us to avoid a couple busy roads through Elkton. For the postal control, use the USPS Drop Box located at the Flying J Travel Center - look for the drop box outside the front entrance of the convenience store. There is also a Golden Corral attached to the Flying J for anyone who has already worked up an enormous appetite. In addition, you might hear messages over the P.A. saying something like “Customer number 49, your shower is now ready,” beckoning you for a mid-ride shower ($12).
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| Postal Control in Elkton, MD USPS Drop Box is located outside front entrance of Flying J Travel Center Showers available! |
The Bird-in-Hand PA control, previously a postal control, is now a Turkey Hill merchant control. Using this location allows us to shave off a mile and avoid a difficult left turn onto the busy Old Philadelphia Pike, instead crossing straight through a traffic light.
The first road closure was on Glen Riddle Rd, caused by a rehabilitation project on a bridge over Chrome Run. The detour includes a three mile cruise on the Chester Creek Trail which is nice and empty in the early morning hours.
Another bridge, the Jackson’s Mill Covered Bridge crossing West Octoraro Creek in Lancaster County, is closed for a rehabilitation project, so there is a detour on Hollow Rd.
The only other issue that I ran into on the course was on Joshua Road. The entire stretch from Stenton Ave to Cedar Grove Lane (about 3 miles in length) was milled and very bumpy, which was especially annoying because it is about 239 miles into the ride. Hopefully it is repaved by May 11.
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| One of two short gravel sections. The surface on this section is smooth and the road scenic (mile 81). |
After popular demand, Fleecydale Rd was added to the route at mile 210 (in place of Greenhill Rd). Fleecydale is a classic Bucks County road with a gentle climb, a peaceful creek and beautiful historic homes. It has been closed to cars for two years due to washouts caused by flooding. I hesitated to use this road on last year's 4S4 because we reach it after sunset. However, after several test rides in the dark, it has been determined to be rideable, mainly because the road’s incline keeps the riding to a modest speed through the closed section. It is still closed to cars, but it should be approached with caution. The washouts are on the left side of the road and are noted in the cues.
We plan to have a volunteer set up at the penultimate control in Bloomsbury NJ. The moral support here is usually much appreciated, as most riders will reach it as the sun goes down, with 100k left, and a big climb on Staats Rd coming up right after the control. There aren’t any controls between Bloomsbury and Philadelphia, but there is a 24 hour Wawa in Doylestown (mile 220) which is about halfway between the controls, and another 24 hour Wawa at mile 240.
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| Take a break as you walk your bike across the Riegelsville Bridge over the Delaware River. Riding is prohibited on this bridge (mile 179) |
There are several other convenience stores that provide standard fare but options for different times to eat along the route: Landhope Farms in Oxford PA (mile 76); the Bird-in-Hand Bakery & Miller’s Smorgasbord (slightly off course at mile 98); an Exxon in New Holland (mile 107); an Exxon in Riegelsville (mile 177); across from the Citgo control in Bloomsbury are two truck stops, with a Burger King and Subway (mile 187); Milford Market/Citgo (mile 195); and the 24hr Wawas mentioned above in Doylestown (mile 220) and Lafayette Hill (mile 240).
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| Spring has arrived in Oley Valley. Limekiln Rd (mile 134) |
This is a challenging route that includes a lot of hills. The upside is that there are a lot of fun, winding, long descents. Use these descents to your advantage by coasting. Most of them allow you to coast for several minutes without any stops disrupting your speed. My favorites include Smithbridge Rd descending into the Brandywine Creek Valley (mile 31-33), Mt Pleasant Rd into the Conestoga River Valley (mile 92-94), Cocalico Rd into the Schuylkill River Valley (mile 126-129), Slifer Valley & Lehnenberg Rd into the Delaware River Valley (mile 167-177), and Sweet Hollow after climbing Staats Rd (mile 191-196).
Be prepared to be strategic with your clothing so you don’t overheat on the climbs or get cold on descents. Removable arm sleeves, zip-able vests, and other easily removable gear is very helpful. The route passes over many creeks in the first 100k and the temps can be a lot cooler next to these creeks in the early morning hours. And after a full day of riding, 50 degrees at night feels a lot colder than it did in the morning. Group up with other riders at the Bloomsbury control to ride the final 100k in the dark for increased safety.
Since this ride involves significantly more nighttime riding than the previous rides, RUSA rules (see Article 10) will be strictly enforced at the morning inspection:
- reflective ankle straps
- “a reflective vest (which displays at least 30 square inches of rear-facing reflectivity and 27 square inches of forward-facing and shoulder reflectivity)”
- “a set of working front and rear lights must be firmly mounted on the vehicle and turned on. At least one of the rear lights must be in a steady (rather than flashing) mode. Backup lighting systems and/or spare bulbs are strongly recommended in case the primary system fails and cannot be repaired on the roadside.”
The cue sheet (version 4) and RWGPS file (updated 2024-05-1 09:53:38 EDT) reflect the changes based on the pre-ride. It is recommended that riders break up the route into smaller sections to download to your device. There is cell service on most of the route. There were stretches without cell service but they did not last long.
Not interested in riding all day and most of the night? Join us for a ride that will only take most of the day, the Tscheschter Kaundi 200K. Another route with beautiful scenery, it will begin at 7am on the same day as the 4S4. We are still looking for a volunteer to scout out the route with a pre-ride. Please let me know if you are interested! If we find a volunteer pre-rider, this blog will be updated with any course notes.
Brad Layman
Event Organizer
