10 | JULY 4 • 2024
J
N
M
errill Gordon of West
Bloomfield recently
completed a 700-mile
bike ride around Lake Superior
over the course of seven days
for his 70th birthday. Gordon, a
lawyer who has lived in Metro
Detroit his whole life, is an avid
cyclist.
Gordon has been riding for
about 25 years, ever since his
brother gifted him a bike for his
birthday. He started riding and
quickly fell in love, successively
riding longer distances and get-
ting better bikes and equipment
over the years.
Gordon rides almost every
day and estimates riding
between 3,000-5,000 miles a
year.
He generally rides with a
friend or two, and rides with
groups in the city of Detroit
and around town. Gordon rides
almost exclusively on the road,
as opposed to trails and other
surfaces.
Though he doesn’t partake
in competitive races, he cycles
recreationally for hours a day at
a pretty good clip. “It’s not just
dawdling,
” Gordon said.
Gordon rides in the morn-
ings. A normal morning to
Gordon would be to wake up at
5 a.m., start riding at 6 a.m. and
ride all the way to Birmingham
and back — returning home by
7:30 a.m.
Gordon and his wife, Susie,
have three children: Carly,
Lindsay and Jacob.
“Back in the day, when the
kids were little, Susie’s mantra to
me was on Saturday mornings
you can leave as early as you
want, just be back by 9:30 with
bagels,
” Gordon laughed.
“When I ride, I feel good. It
makes me feel young. So, I do
it,
” Gordon said. “
And I ride
inside in the winter. I put the
bike on a trainer, and I ride out-
side in even generally inclement
weather.
”
COMMEMORATING
HIS 70TH BIRTHDAY
Gordon’s 70th birthday was
back on Feb. 2, and he was
thinking about how he wanted
to commemorate it. He had
done a number of other long,
multi-day rides in the past.
The first long bike trip
Gordon went on was from San
Francisco to Los Angeles about
20 years ago for a friend’s 50th
birthday.
He’s also ridden from home
to Mackinac Island, from home
to Niagara Falls, and a trip
across the Upper Peninsula
from Sault Ste. Marie to Copper
Harbor on the southern shore
of Lake Superior.
He was looking for a 700-
mile ride for this occasion, and
eventually came up with the
perfect route. The trip went
from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario,
over the top of Lake Superior
through a number of small-
er towns, and then through
Thunder Bay, Ontario, and
Duluth, Minnesota, and then
almost to Ironwood, Michigan.
A good friend of Gordon’s,
Jeff Poe, went on the trip with
him and drove his car along
Gordon’s bike route with his
dog, Maddy.
“I’
d get up in the morning
and start riding. He’
d meet me
for breakfast, and then we’
d
meet for dinner when I was
done for the day,
” Gordon says.
“
And then start off the next
day again. We stayed in motels
along the way.
”
They drove up on June 7,
Gordon started riding on June 8
and rode everyday through June
14. They drove back on June 15.
Gordon says the route wasn’t
For his 70th birthday,
Merrill
Gordon
embarked on his
longest-ever bike ride
in consecutive days.
DANNY SCHWARTZ
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
in
7
Days
700
miles
OUR COMMUNITY