The man behind longtime RAGBRAI icon Mr. Pork Chop, Matt Bernhard, has died, his family announced Monday on Facebook.
Bernhard, aka Mr. Pork Chop Jr., , for many years drove the signature pink Mr. Pork Chop bus along the route of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, stopping each day along the way to grill and sell the cyclists thick Iowa-cut chops and engage in salty banter with them.
His father, Paul, the original Mr. Pork Chop, started catering to RAGBRAI in 1983. When the elder Bernhard retired after the 2007 ride, Matt Bernhard, who had long worked with him, took over the business. Paul Bernhard died at age 88 in 2016.