What's it like to be an Iowa State Trooper on RAGBRAI? We spend a morning with one
Iowa State Trooper Bob Conrad says working RAGBRAI is the toughest week of his entire year. But it's also the one time a year he and his colleague Trooper Kevin Krull get to make a playlist for over 30,000 people ― and they actually enjoy listening to it.
"Thank you!" one RAGBRAIer after another yells while riding past Conrad and Krull at the intersection of Iowa 71 and County Highway 65 just southeast of Storm Lake on Monday morning. "Nice song!" another person bopping his head to the beat exclaims as Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" plays over the Conrad's portable loudspeaker. A rider from Israel even pulls over to take a selfie with the troopers, beaming as if he's just met two local celebrities.
Conrad, a 33-year-veteran of the force, waves the riders on using his highly sophisticated "traffic controller device," otherwise known as a wooden stick with some orange reflectors wrapped around the top. Krull directs the line of support vehicles onto the proper route to keep them from mingling with the bikes.
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It's only 8 a.m., but the troopers already have been at it for more than three hours.
Conrad stayed up until 10:30p.m. the night before polishing the brass on his uniform and shining his shoes. His alarm woke him up at 4 a.m. After a taking a quick shower and suiting up, he drove his patrol car to the intersection to set up signs and direct the first crop of early risers to the first pass-through town, aptly named Early, just a handful of miles up the road.
"I didn't even stop for a cup of coffee because I knew I needed to get out here," Conrad says, swinging his baton with accustomed ease.
The 12- to 14-hour work days managing tens of thousands of cyclists and hundreds of cars ― all in nearly 100-degree heat while wearing winter wool pants and over 20 pounds of gear ― might get some troopers down, Conrad says. But he's been working RAGBRAI for 18 years, and he says it's all about what you make of it.
More: Challenging first day for RAGBRAI riders gives way to pleasant Day 2
"My dad always had a saying: If you're going to eat a toad, you don't want to look at it too long because it isn't going to get any better looking. That's some days how you look at RAGBRAI. You say it's going to be a long day, it's going to be hot, it's going to be frustrating. But we'll get through it and we'll do it the best way possible," he says.
"And we'll have a good story when we're done," Krull adds.
Troopers prioritize safety first, good stories second
The Iowa State Patrol has been at work for nearly a year to make the 50th anniversary RAGBRAI possible.
"Our planning starts shortly after the RAGBRAI is done," says Sgt. Alex Dinkla, a spokesperson for the agency and the officer in charge of the RAGBRAI contingent. "So as soon RAGBRAI 50 is done, we're going to be starting RAGBRAI 51."
There are many logistical challenges to manage. For one, the golden anniversary RAGBRAI is using bigger roads to accommodate a higher expected volume of riders. Planning out and managing an intersection like the one on busy Highway 71 where Conrad and Krull were stationed Monday morning is a job Dinkla says the troopers couldn't do alone.
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"We rely heavily on our different city partners, our county law enforcement partners, and so we all work together to make this a huge, safe event," he says.
Conrad says RAGBRAI is an incredibly large undertaking that requires work by a team of 14 troopers from nearly every district in the state. But as a native Iowan, he takes great pride in being a part of the team that helps show the state off to people from around the country and the world.
"RAGBRAI puts us on the map. And I think with Iowa, we need things like that. We need those different events that say this is the place," he says, remarking on how over the years, he's interacted with people from all 50 states and around 30 countries.
"Now, we only need it one week a year," he adds with a smile.
Even as he jokes and at times wishes he could wear shorts and a polo to work rather than his uniform's wool pants, Conrad holds a special place in his heart for the cross-state ride. From watching it run through his hometown of Coralville and hosting teams of riders in his front yard to helping save a man's life in 2019 after he suffered a heart attack on the ride, RAGBRAI has inspired Conrad to forge new relationships and build lasting memories.
Every year, he said, the 62-year-old cyclist who he helped revive using an defibrillator "calls me to thank me before RAGBRAI, even if he's not riding it," Conrad says.
To this day, Conrad says, the man calls him "a lifelong friend."
Trooper tips for a safe and fun RAGBRAI
After directing traffic for 18 RAGBRAIs, Conrad says he's learned a thing or two from riders about how to keep RAGBRAI safe and fun. Here are his recommendations for riders:
Stay in the right lane to leave room for the faster bikers.
Still maintain the rules of the road, whether you're on a bike or in a car.
Stay hydrated (and no, beer doesn't count).
Every cornfield is a bathroom.
More: More pies than people: How a town of 249 people prepared for 20,000 RAGBRAI cyclists
Troopers' top five tunes for the RAGBRAI route
Conrad and Krull play a bit of everything on the RAGBRAI route, but they say there are a few songs and artists that really get riders to stand on their pedals and sing along. Here's their top five list of RAGBRAI "Trooper Tunes:"
"Burning Love" by Elvis Presley.
"Poor Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard (or really any 80's classic rock).
"Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond.
Anything by Johnny Cash (but especially "Ring of Fire").
Anything by Junior Brown.
Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at@francescablock3.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A day in the life of an Iowa State Patrol trooper during RAGBRAI
