A
s the editor of Cycle News in what now seems like a previous
life, I lived in a world where I couldn't play favorites. It was
Journalism 101. But Nicky Hayden was my favorite. And I
wasn't overly concerned about hiding it. He was my favorite
not because of what he could do on two wheels. He was my
favorite because of the person he was off them.
He cared. And he didn't have a problem showing it. The thing you
quickly realized about Nicky was that it was never really about Nicky. When
you chatted with him, whether for five minutes or an hour, the conversation
centered mostly around you.
"How's MotoAmerica doing? How's the family? You still like the job?"
That was the last conversation I had with Nicky as we pedaled bicycles
a few short months before his fatal accident near his off-season home in
California, along with his brother Roger and fellow racer and Kentuckian
Jake Lewis. And it wasn't just me. It was everyone. He rode next to me
for miles, asking me about me. Then I watched and listened as he
pulled up next to Lewis and talked to him about his coming racing
season, about his training, his program for 2017. It was always
about the other person. That was Nicky.
Much More Than A Champion
By Paul Carruthers
CN
CARRUTHERS SAYS
The following column was written in the days following Nicky's passing in 2017.
