A Missouri man is likely the oldest cyclist on the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. Robert Kuthe of St. Louis is among the pack of peddlers making their way across Iowa this week.Kuthe says the highlight of any RAGBRAI, for him, is finishing. Kuthe gives his age, just like a youngster, saying he’s 84-and-a-half. He’ll be 85 in January, and he often outpaces riders half his age. Kuthe used to bike with his 60-year-old daughter until, he says, she got too busy doing other things. Now, he often bikes with “Hostelling International” — a West Coast group that offers weekly bike rides covering between 40 and 50 miles.So, how does RAGBRAI compare? Kuthe laughingly says it’s just another ride for him. So the couch potatoes don’t feel too inferior, Kuthe admits to a few vices that distract him from exercising. Kuthe is an amateur ham radio operator, and he says he spends a lot of time on the computer, too. Kuthe, though, says he bikes about six thousand miles every year.
