Allan Butler--all-around good guy
I got an email Friday morning saying that Allan had been in an accident and passed away. I couldn't put it together and make sense of it. I had just spoke with him the previous Saturday at the Ogden criterium. On the drive home that night, Dona was telling me how she talked with Allan after the race to congratulate him on a great effort and all he could talk about was Odessa and how proud he was of her. She had kept her new shoes on all day. Proud dad. The email made no sense. There's no way Allan could be dead. Then my phone rang and I could see it was TMac's number. I knew he was in Las Vegas at the show, had heard the news and was calling to tell me. Immediately, memories of Allan started to roll. Here's a few to add to all of your long lists of positive Allan Butler memories.
My first year of road racing in 2003 was impressionable. I watched the Cat.1-2 riders closely to understand how to become a good racer. I had heard plenty about Allan. I didn't meet him until mid-season that year, but I knew he was well-respected as a tough no-nonsense racer. At the Jeff Roger's Memorial Eureka Road Race I saw why he was respected both on and off the bike. I can't remember his exact placing, but he was in the money...probably top 3. He walked up to accept his award, and when he did, he turned to Jeff Roger's wife and handed it to her. I will always remember that gesture and be impressed by it.
This year, we've witnessed Allan's tenacity numerous times. He is an impressive racer. Two criteriums come to mind. Unfortunately, I was watching from the sidelines for one of them. There was a criterium at Thanksgiving Point for the Tour of Utah stage race. It looked like the pace was brutal. One of the SeaSilver guys got off the front and was destroying it by himself with the pack not making a dent in the chase, even with the high speeds. After a few laps I see Allan attempting to bridge up solo and he is moving quickly away fromt he pack. He caught the SeaSilver racer and they worked together to stay off the front until the last lap when the SeaSilver racer attacked. Allan was able to roll across the line clear of the pack for 2nd. You could tell he was disappointed to not win, but he still had a smile on his face. I read something someone wrote on Friday about Al being a gracious winner, but even a more gracious loser. We could all take a lesson from his example.
The other criterium was at the Gate City Grind stage race. Allan had rode a fine road race, a great time trial, and was less than 30 seconds out of the overall lead before the criterium. We were all duking it out for one-day glory since most of us couldn't go for the overall. Al timed it perfect and attacked with Aaron Jordin close to the end of the race. They worked super hard together, Al won the criterium and moved himself into the overall lead to take the stage race win. It always seemed that he would give it everything he had in races and this was no exception.
I hope everyone has some good memories like these about Al. My thoughts and condolences go to his family.