Robert Downes

Background

About Robert Downes

Robert (Bob) Downes is the author of three nonfiction books:"Planet Backpacker"(2008)," Biking Northern Michigan"(2014), and "Travels With My Wife"(2015). His novel,"Windigo Moon," will be published by Blank Slate Press in September, 2017. A native of Grand Rapids, MI, Downes earned a B.A. in journalism from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1976. Thereafter, he worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in metro Detroit, with a stint in hospital public relations in the 1980s. In 1991, Downes and his friend, George Foster, launched the alternative newsweekly,"Northern Express Weekly" in Traverse City. Downes served as editor and co-publisher of the newsweekly for 22 years until its sale in December, 2013. Under his leadership, the publication earned numerous Michigan Press Association awards, including the highest honor for "General Excellence." Concurrently, Downes indulged his passion for world travel, mostly as a backpacker and cyclist. He has visited more than 70 countries. In 2011, he and his wife, Jeannette Wildman, spent seven months backpacking around the world, resulting in their memoir,"Travels With My Wife." Downes is also an ardent cyclist and his guidebook,"Biking Northern Michigan," is a regional best seller. Downes has cycled in Australia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Peru, England, Ireland and across continental Europe in addition to routes around the U.S. In the summer of 2016, he cycled more than 2,700 miles over the Rockies and across the Great Plains from Seattle to his home in Michigan. He and his wife Jeannette make their winter home in Mexico and Central America.