Farewell to Greg Moore, aka 'Gravelo'

It is with great sadness that I have to announce the passing of Gravelo, aka Greg Moore from Boone, Iowa. We never met except for online back in the days when Blogger had a "Next Blog" facility which enable users to find random blogs. At least that's how I think we linked up. It might not have been that way at all, but I remember when the facility existed that by pressing "next blog" it would often take me to a related site, ie a cycling site, and I can only assume that that was how we 'met'. That said, it could have been Greg himself stumbling across NoVisibleLycra. Who knows? Either way we linked up and I must say that Greg was a fantastic writer and he possessed some interesting bikes.

Greg Moore, aka Gravelo

I've always like Greg and his general attitude towards life. He was married, he had kids and he seemed like a really nice guy. I always hoped that one of my business trips to the USA would take me close to where he was based so that I could drop by and say hello, possibly even go on a ride with him, that would have been great, but it was never to be.

At some stage, Greg seemingly stopped his blog, https://gravelo.blogspot.com/to focus on running and I think he was running 5k per day, he really got into it and for a long while I thought he'd given up riding his bikes, but no, he hadn't, and Gravelo.blogspot continued, his last post being on 17 February 2024, he died four months later on 29 June 2024 and I only found out after writing a comment on the 17 February post, The Year of the Hat in which he talked, albeit briefly, about his brain cancer. He was forced to wear a crash helmet after an operation to protect the site and scar of brain surgery. In a previous post dated 6 December 2023 and entitled A first, of Sorts, For Me, he spoke of the crash: 

"I reached a terminal (nearly) speed of 31.7mph on the hill, brakes were not hooking up, tried to scrub speed with my foot to no avail, and ended up slamming into the back side of a ditch, neck and shoulders first, at 30 plus mph. My watch data shows a period of about 4½ minutes of ZERO movement right at the point where the speed track stops."

He died peacefully, surrounded by his family, but his memory will live on I'm sure. I will certainly remember him and can only say it was a shame we never met. I used to love receiving a message from Greg on the blog. Occasionally I look back on past posts and occasionally stumble upon comments from Greg, which were always most welcomed. It would also have been nice if Greg came to the UK and joined Andy and I on one of our rides, which he seemed to love reading about.

One of Greg's amazing bikes, this one always intrigued me

When my sister died in early December 2023, Greg kindly posted two comments, on 6 and 7 December:

Matthew, it is heartening to know that you are attempting to remain upbeat. My 3 siblings are living still and there is one that we all worry about, but still she persists in life. Wonderful healing machine, the bicycle. Stay true and stay well. Best Wishes, your friend, Greg "Gravelo" Moore (6 December 2023)

Hi Matthew, I'm sorry to learn of your sister's passing but glad to know that cycling will help to deliver you from the grief. The bicycle is a wonderful vehicle. Have a lovely Christmas and stay awesome in the new year! Your friend, Greg "Gravelo" Moore, USA! (7 December 2023)

I hope he'll rest in peace, I'm sure he will and I send my fond regards to his family.

Postscript: I almost forgot Greg's other passion, running. He set up a blog called 5ktherapy.blogspot.com and decided, I think, to run 5k every day. The last post was on 3 May 2019. Here is that last post in full:

"Long" route tonight, still only 3.1 miles but it's an out and back so it feels long. Funny how the brain can perceive things that way. It's like having a "long day"at work, even though the time you spent there was the same amount as any other day. It just feels long sometimes. I'm sure that as your lives become busier in the coming years that the times apart from you will seem like forever for Mom and I, even though it may only be for a few months at a time. Like now. It feels like an eternity sometimes...