A 400K is always an epic ride. It sits at the edge of what most randonneurs can realistically fit into a single day on the bike. But this year’s edition felt especially significant because for nearly half of the field, it was both the longest and hilliest ride they had ever attempted.
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| The sun came out in time to create long shadows in the evening (photo by Alexa Ringer) |
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| Riders roll through Philly in the early morning hours at the start of the ride (photo by Doug McLerran) |
31 riders, including five pre-riders, rolled out from Chamounix and into the darkness of Fairmount Park. By the time the final riders returned to Philadelphia, every single rider had completed the course within the time limit. A 100% finish rate on a route like the Four State 400K is extraordinary. Chapeau to all the riders for such an incredible accomplishment.
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| Riders approach the Ashland Covered Bridge in Delaware (photo by Doug McLerran) |
15 riders completed their first 400K: Michael Burns, Joey Doubek, Celia Feal Staub, Jimmy Karadagli, Sayantan Khan, Owen Kobasz, Jasen Lo, Phil Luong, Dan Powers, Jake Prosser, Alexa Ringer, Kate Sparacio, Samuel Tarlow, Maria Thomson, and Erik Wright. Congratulations and chapeau to all of the first-time 400K finishers for tackling one of the most demanding milestones in randonneuring with grit, resilience, and an incredible spirit throughout the day and night.
We also had several very experienced randonneurs from other regions complete their first PA brevets: Chris Gross (DC), Doug McLerran (Illinois), and Brian Feinberg (Bay Area, CA). Welcome all, and we hope to see you back for another ride soon!
The nervousness at the start was palpable, not only because of the threatening forecast, but because everyone knew they were about to take on a challenging course. Yet that nervous energy was quickly overshadowed by the overwhelmingly positive attitudes and supportive atmosphere shared throughout the group. Having so many riders attempting the distance for the first time gave the day a special feeling, and the supportive culture of the club was on full display from the opening miles onward.
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| Joey Doubek and Phil Luong |
The route delivered everything that makes riding in this region so special. Riders drifted through the rolling roads of Delaware at sunrise, crossed through quiet farmland and covered bridges in Amish country, climbed steep and remote roads deep in Pennsylvania hill country, and eventually returned home along familiar roads beside the Delaware River. Along the way, riders encountered foxes near Wawas, horse-drawn buggies, scooter-bikes, ponies, skunks, rabbits, llamas, and every variety of farm life imaginable.
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| Dan Powers changes into dry socks. Always good to be prepared! (photo by Alexa Ringer) |
The weather added another layer to the experience. Mid-morning rain settled in as riders crossed Lancaster County and the Amish countryside, forcing difficult decisions about whether to stop and risk getting cold or continue pushing onward. Yet many riders described the rain as strangely beautiful, transforming the farmland into long sweeping bands of vivid greens, yellows, and browns beneath soft gray skies. By early evening, the clouds finally broke open into dramatic sunset colors as riders crossed into New Jersey and prepared themselves mentally for the final overnight push back to Philadelphia.
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| Riders tackle one of the gravel sections (photo by Doug McLerran) |
One of the defining characteristics of this year’s ride was how interconnected the field remained throughout the day and night. Riders formed rotating groups, leapfrogged one another at controls, and shared miles with a constantly changing cast of companions. Nearly every control became a lively gathering point filled with stories, encouragement, and the collective relief of making it through another difficult section of the route. For the many riders tackling their first 400K, that shared experience proved invaluable. The event felt less like dozens of individual rides and more like one long communal effort unfolding across four states.
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| Luckily none of these dogs attempted to chase the riders (photo by Maria Thomson) |
The route itself remained as demanding as ever. The steep rollers through Amish country and the remote climbs beyond Birdsboro extracted their usual toll, while Staats Road, kicking off the final 100K, once again earned a reputation as one of the day’s most memorable challenges. Yet the difficulty of the route was balanced by moments that remind riders why they keep returning to events like this: endless sightlines across farmland after the rain, quiet descents beneath tree canopies, conversation carrying riders over climbs at sunset, pacelines forming in the dark somewhere deep in New Jersey, and the surreal final miles back through Manayunk in the middle of the night.
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| Cheers to late night soup (photo by Kate Sparacio) |
As always, events like this are only possible because of the volunteers and community supporting them. Patrick Gaffney and David Coccagna welcomed riders at Chamonix on Friday evening. Pat returned early Saturday morning and was joined by Matt Willet as they checked riders in and sent them off into the pre-dawn morning. Travis Berry, who was at Chamounix to handle the finish control of the TK 200K, stuck around to cheer in 400K riders along with Jakub Piven. Iwan Barankay came to staff a late night shift at the finish and even returned to Chamounix the next morning to help clean up.
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| Riders cross the Lumberville Bridge (photo by Maria Thomson) |
We were very lucky to have two experienced randonneurs - PBP anciens in fact - Ed Bernasky and Chris Nadovich out on the course for support. Chris provided a sweep between Coopersburg and Bloomsbury, while Ed staffed the Bloomsbury control. It was invaluable support as the riders entered their final 100K, with many riding in the dark. These volunteers certainly contributed to our amazing finish rate.
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| At the beginning of the series, Nick faced a lot of questions about his shoes. At this point in the series, it's mostly just looks of amazement that they're still going. (photo by Maria Thomson) |
And finally, congratulations once again to all 31 riders. Whether this was your first 400K or your tenth, the Four State route demands patience, resilience, adaptability, and a willingness to keep moving forward long after comfort has disappeared. This year’s group met that challenge with remarkable positivity and determination from the opening miles in darkness to the final exhausted climb back up to Chamounix Drive many hours later.
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| Bill Scanga and David Coccagna work on the event board |
Ben Keenan writes...
Thanks to Brad, Pat, Cece, Matt, Dave, Ed and all other volunteers for this ride. Truth: I may have cursed and whined on a few of the hills and whilst experiencing some unrequested “manure therapy” from the wet roads in Amish country. But even more truth: That was a magnificent route and day. Thanks to all the other riders for making this a great rendition of the Four State 400 and hope to see everyone next month for the series finale.
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| Crossing the Riegelsville Bridge (photo by Kate Sparacio) |
Kate Sparacio writes...
Wow what a day! It kept the spirits consistently high that so many of us were riding in close proximity to each other all day, making every control a delight to roll into and creating opportunities to ride with a rotating cast of friends over the course of the day and into the night. It felt extremely special to be among such a significant number of riders who were pushing their first 400k. So much pride and stoke for this group's huge accomplishment!
Sayantan Khan writes...
On long rides like these, my brain decomposes the memory of the ride into large distinct chunks with each having a different overarching theme or impression. For this ride there were the
- Swarthmore and Delaware section: I am delighted each time I ride into Delaware on a PA Randonneurs ride: beautiful undulating roads and trails, made prettier by riding through it as the sun rose.
- Amish country: Seeing horse drawn carriages and the Amish folk commuting on their bikes filled me with a sense of safety and camaraderie.
- The steep and remote hilly sections: While the steep hills in this section were punishing, they also immediately paid off as soon as I would crest each one: they were remote, wild, and extremely green.
- Fleecy Dale Road and home turf: As soon as we crossed back into PA, the reward was a delightful little climb (almost a digestif after the main course of all the other climbs), followed by the home turf of familiar PA roads.
With this sort of decomposition, the ride felt less like a 400k, and more like a sequence of four delightful but different 100k rides.
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| Riders nap before riding home after a long day and night |
Alexa Ringer writes...
This ride delivers everything you love about the mid-Atlantic region: drifting in the nooks and crannies of pastoral land, flying through quiet wood covered bridges, and that awesome feeling of being instantly transported away from major cities even though we skirt the edges of several cities. I saw a lot of things on this ride just in the first few hours: lamas, a fox near a Wawa, more Amish buggies and scooter-bikes than I could count, bunnies, a skunk, ponies, and lots of farm life. Maria, Jasen, Nick, Owen and I also unfortunately witnessed a car crash at 9am and mile 60~ from a driver foolishly overtaking us at a blind spot when a car was coming just on the other side. Everyone was ok but it was a sobering reminder of our vulnerability, even when wearing lots of reflective gear and on seemingly quiet roads. Looking at the broken mirror on the ground after both drivers took off, we didn't know what else to do but keep riding. From then on out, I opted to take the full lane if it wasn't safe for cars to pass, and tried to signal to drivers when it was safe.
Although the mid-morning rain made it hard to stop without getting cold, one of my favorite parts was meandering through sweeping Amish farmland and being so caught up in the long lush sightlines of colorful patched fields, vibrant greens, browns, and yellows from the rain...I forgot it was raining, until I realized it wasn't anymore. It's moments like that I remind myself to smile, even if I'm by myself and I'm wet, cold, or miserable. That's all it takes to make my body feel flooded with gratitude to be on a bike in spite of obstacles and challenges, physical, mental, weather, whatever. Rolled with different homies and it all felt pretty good overall despite some back pain and chaffing from wet bibs (ugh).
By the time I approached the Wawa near Allentown at mile 160, I was beginning to feel exhausted and that the task at hand was insurmountable. I stopped looking at the mile marker because I knew I wouldn't like seeing any number there unless it was 250. I had a breakfast burrito, brushed my teeth and washed my face, and set off again with speakers blasting Bad Bunny in sync with Tracey, feeling invigorated and riding with Dan, Jake, Owen, Tracey, Jasen, Andy...there were probably others. It was a good group. The sun was finally out and warming us up even though it was also going down, so we took it in as much as possible as it warmed our backs. The sky opened up into those perfect cotton candy clouds, dreamy expansive views of Appalachian plateaus in the distance and we danced our butts off to EDM music on the climbs and descents, and even crossing the bridge into NJ on foot.
Jasen Lo and Alexa Ringer at the finish
Lights were on by New Jersey and Jasen, Celia, and I took off together from the last control. We caught up to Andy and the four of us were cooking on a solid paceline until the pothole covered, washed out road gave Celia a flat. We did our best to help but the cold set in from standing still, sucking out morale. We warmed up with chicken noodle soup at the next Wawa. Only 30 miles from the finish but it felt like another 100. Jasen and I set off and just kept it steady, joking about our hallucinations and questioning why the heck we were out here at 3am. It felt easier than the fleche we did last weekend for some reason - whether the route, the 4am - 4am cadence (instead of 9am - 9am), or just that we were getting use to the sleep deprivation on these brevets....I got pissed at the final train track crossing in Manayunk near Port Royal and walked the steep pitch, cursing and telling Jasen surely this has gotten steeper since the last time we were here... We finished just after 4am blasting Sandstorm by Danube and despite having no gas left in the tank, sprinting up Chamonix anyway.
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| "RBAs sleep too" (caption & photo by Ben Keenan) |
Next up is the finale of the Pennsylvania Super Randonneur Series: the Bleu Kaundi 600K. Join us June 6-7 for one more epic adventure. Registration is open until midnight on Wednesday, June 3. We need volunteers! Reach out if you are interested or have any questions. We also have the Keystone Brevet Co 200K on June 13.
FYI, we are putting together an order for Woolistic PA Rando jerseys! We want to make sure everyone is prepared for PBP 2027 and any other big rides ahead. Check out the club store for more details. Ordering will remain open until 15 July.
PS: I’m also looking for photos and stories about how the SR Series punchcards have added motivation to your rides. If you’ve been keeping your card in a special place, such as on your fridge, in your handlebar bag, pinned to a bulletin board, or somewhere else that keeps the challenge in sight, I’d love to collect some photos and stories to share. If you’re interested, please reach out!
Brad Layman
RBA, Pennsylvania Randonneurs
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