Nicky Hayden RIP

"The Kentucky Kid", 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden is critically injured after being struck by a car. He was riding a bicycle while training in Italy. He's in critical condition with brain and internal injuries.

He's been our homestate hero almost as long as he's been in the motorsports news. He is a quality guy, works hard, is humble, never badmouths others, takes responsibility for himself and never blames his crew or equipment. He's a great ambassador for the sport and for his country.

Offer a prayer, please, for The Kentucky Kid.

sports.yahoo.com/news/motogp...161919443.html

www.foxsports.com.au/motorspo...71fca1d0f13df4


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Very Sad to hear this.

Wishing Nicky a complete and rapid recovery

Dave

I saw this news yesterday, what a waste of talent, I hope he recovers fully. He has my best wishes

Nicky Hayden succumbed to his injuries.

#69 The Kentucky Kid

RIP

www.bbc.com/sport/motorsport/39972058


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Terrible News
Ride with the Angels Nicky..................

Worst news I've heard in a long time. I cannot believe he is gone.

What gets me, he was on a bicycle. RIP
Steve

Nicholas “Nicky” Hayden passed away on Monday, May 22, 2017, at the age of 35, following a May 17 bicycle accident in Italy.

Born into a large extended Catholic family in Owensboro, Kentucky, Nicky was the middle child of Earl and Rose Hayden, with two brothers and two sisters. The entire family loved motorcycles, and shortly after he could walk, Nicky declared that his dream was to be a world champion. Although life on a farm meant that animals—horses, pot-belly pigs, even llamas—were a part of every day, for Nicky they were just novelties, and while he was a natural athlete, childhood sports leagues were little more than a lark. Racing—for the whole family, but especially for Nicky—was everything. Apart from an annual spring-break jaunt to Panama City, Florida, family trips were to racetracks, first around the Midwest, then the Eastern U.S., and eventually the entire country.

That said, there was never any doubt about where home was. Even after he began traveling the globe to race in exotic locales, Nicky would always return to his beloved “OWB.” He received his education through local Catholic schools—Precious Blood Elementary School, Owensboro Catholic Middle School and Owensboro Catholic High School—and his first jobs comprised helping out at his uncles’ nearby farms, where he began developing the tenacious work ethic for which he would be known throughout his racing career. He remained close with his core group of childhood friends throughout his life, and he helped many young local racers to pursue their own dreams.

For Nicky, a distinguished amateur dirt track and road racing career transitioned into a successful stint in the AMA Grand National Championship and AMA Superbike series, in which he earned the 1999 AMA Supersport and 2002 AMA Superbike crowns with American Honda. He was promoted to the FIM MotoGP series with Repsol Honda, for whom he achieved his dream of earning the World Championship in 2006. Nicky also rode for Ducati and Aspar Racing in MotoGP, and last year he transitioned to the FIM Superbike World Championship with the Ten Kate squad. Along the way, his charisma earned him legions of fans the world over, while his dedication and professionalism earned the respect and admiration of his teams, teammates and competitors.

Among those who knew him best, Nicky was cherished for his generosity, kindness, and mischievous sense of humor. His famous grin was never far from his lips, and he invariably had time to engage with others, even strangers. The life of any party, Nicky loved to dance, wear funny costumes, and pull pranks, often with a microphone in hand.

Throughout it all, family was Nicky’s anchor. Many Americans who race internationally opt to relocate overseas, but Nicky always preferred to return home between events. Well into his professional career, he resided in an apartment above his parents’ garage, and even after purchasing his own home nearby, he religiously showed up for his mother’s 6 o’clock dinners when he wasn’t traveling. Several years ago, he purchased and refurbished an old building on an Owensboro lake, and what he dubbed Victory Lane Lodge became the family’s preferred location for functions of all types, from Sunday get-togethers to weddings. He loved children and was a model uncle, and friends and family say he was never happier than after meeting girlfriend Jackie, with whom he became engaged last year.

Nicky is survived by his parents Earl and Rose; his siblings Tommy, Jennifer, Roger, and Kathleen; his fiancée Jacqueline Marin; nieces Olivia, Klaudia, Vera, Kyla Jo, and Kate; nephew Colt; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Services are noon Monday at St. Stephen Cathedral, and will be livestreamed on his Facebook page.

Visitation is from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Haley-McGinnis Funeral Home in Owensboro.

We 2-upped on the ST-1300 to and from Owensboro for the visitation on Sun., and returned aboard our two CB-750 Nighthawks for the funeral on Mon.

Visitation:
Sunday, May 28
So many floral arrangements filling every available space, and other remembrances from so, so many of the big names in motor-sports! Jimmy Johnson, Red Bull, Ten Kate Racing, Ducati, Honda, Arai, Rossi, FIM, on and on and on.

The large, old historic funeral home was devoted exclusively to Nicky Hayden. In it were rooms containing signed posters, paintings, letters of correspondence, memorabilia, etc. Many, many photos, from his early childhood through recent times were everywhere you looked. The helmet, leathers and his bike from the 2006 World Championship were in one of the rooms. A 20 min. video loop was playing in the chapel and in the bike room, featuring interviews (the Tonight Show with Jay Leno interview with Nicky, Tommy and Roger Lee was particularly entertaining), race footage and a brief history. A set of leathers from his younger years with “Mr. Dirt” sewn onto the lower back. His list of “What I want to do's”, written when he was a child, including becoming a World Champion.

We spoke for a moment to Earl and Tommy after paying our respects, tearfully expressing our deepest condolences. Nicky's fiancee Jackie was in the room. We did not see Rose or Roger Lee.

TV stations were on the sidewalks doing interviews.

Funeral:
Monday, May 29
We returned to Owensboro from Louisville the next morning, arriving about at about 10:30 local time. The street in front of the funeral home was blocked off, full of bikes. Bikes were parked on both sides of the next three blocks north of the home, and on the side streets as well. Our guess is there were about 2,000 to 3,000 bikes.

The church where the services were held is diagonally across the street, at the other end of the block as the home. Nicky's casket was hand-carried from the home, down the street to the church by the pallbearers. What had been a fairly noisy crowd of a few thousand people standing around on the street in front of the home talking, became absolutely silent. The only sounds were of distant traffic, and water splashing in the fountain in front of the home.

The home streamed the church service on screens in the chapel. The eulogy was given by a Priest who knew Nicky from childhood, and was particularly touching; a real-life story depicting an experience, a remembrance of his when Nicky was being a class clown.

At the conclusion of the service, the thousands of bikes led the way to the cemetery, past miles people lining the route and through intersections blocked by police for passage of the procession. The hearse and friend/family escort vehicles followed the bikes.

Not long ago, if someone had said to us that we would travel to a funeral service for someone who wouldn't remember us, someone whom we had only met for the briefest of an instant, just long enough to get an autograph, and unashamedly cry at that person's funeral, both of us would have been skeptical.

We did the Interstate drone there and back on Sun., and again for the return trip to Owensboro on Mon. morning. For the return trip after the funeral service we rode IN-66. From Tell City north it's one of the finest pieces of twisty two lane in the region. We've ridden it many times, but this time was different. Instead of more or less attacking it, we just did a relaxed cruise. It was a bittersweet ride, with thoughts of Nicky being with us in spirit, as well as with all the thousands of other Riders returning home from saying “Farewell” to The Kentucky Kid, Nicky Hayden.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE