So his family could not think of a better way for the 84-year-old cyclist to go when he died on October 20, after falling off his bike on the Portobello Rd cycleway.
Mr Allen’s daughter, Denise Powell, said her father was a well-respected competitive cyclist until about six years ago, when he had a knee replacement.
"We have many, many photos of him and the huge number of trophies that he won over the years.
He went to the 2015 Masters Track World Championships in Manchester, where he won a bronze medal, and he was recently made a life member of Cycling Otago.
"Until about four or five years ago, he still held the record for a cycle race that he won back in 1959. It was only just beaten recently.
"Most people looking at Dad wouldn’t think he was 84. He was still very active and very fit."
He and his wife, Lenni, were also among the first people to establish a commercial tourism business on the Otago Central Rail Trail.
"After his knee surgery, he was very determined to rehab himself back to fitness, so he could cycle competitively again.
"He was actually planning on going back to track cycling this year."
Her father was a very "community-minded" man.
He was one of the first members of the Otago Peninsula Community Board when it was established in 2002, and he served on it for 11 years.
She said he had a hand in a lot of the great things you saw around the peninsula today.
"That’s why he was on the community board.
"Dad was a huge advocate for the peninsula cycleway connection. He was passionate about getting it completed.
"Seeing kids ride their bikes to school on it is amazing.
"The cycleway, in my mind, is a legacy of his work."
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Mr Allen was the complaints officer for the Consumers Institute, and
later the Commerce Commission, in Dunedin.
One of his career highlights was getting rid of a certain brand of imported bicycles, which were causing a lot of injuries to riders in the city.
"He was really involved with actually getting them removed from store shelves.
"It’s that sort of thing — it didn’t impact him at all, but it was important to him."
Dr Powell said her family had been shocked by Mr Allen’s accident.
"Dad was in his happy place, cycling.
"So the only comfort we can take from this, is that he was doing what he loved when he died."
Mr Allen is survived by his wife, Lenni, two daughters, two grandsons and two great-grandsons.
