Long Island Proud: Nick Kraus Talks Soldier Ride

When it comes to the amazing support of our troops I am humbled by the efforts of so many citizens who participate in many ways and I thought of Nick Kraus and his work supporting Soldier Ride. I ask Nick how many years he has have been involved with Soldier Ride and he said, "I’ve been involved since 2003 and we did our first cross country Soldier Ride in 2004. When I say “we” I mean I was one of many who supported Chris Carney on his ride across. I was in a car!"

Then I asked his who else in the hamptons have been super active / helpful/ supportive ?And he replied, "So many people of all different backgrounds have supported Soldier Ride and the Wounded Warrior Project right from the start. The early years when nobody knew who were strike me as the most crucial, but of course the need to support our veterans is still a major issue even if you don’t hear about it in the news that much anymore. If I had to name a few I would mention Chris Carney who rode his bicycle across the country twice. Tek who drove the support vehicle the first two times. Reggie Cornelia who did it the 3rd cross country and helped in a million other ways. Peter Honerkamp his been a major part of everything from day 1. So many others..."

I then asked him what was one of your finest moments with soldier ride? And he replied, "So many great moments. Having Soldier Ride Day at the White House every year starting in 2005 is always an honor. To see something become much bigger than yourself is very humbling. But the finest moments are really watching a wounded warrior who doubted he could ever do something as simple as ride a bike again go out there and do it. You can actually see the look of accomplishment in their face. That doesn’t get old. "

Next I asked Nick Kraus, Is there a way to contribute financially and also volunteer ? His answer was, "We are always looking for support. One can learn more about Soldier Ride and the other programs Wounded Warrior Project has to offer by going to our website www.woundedwarriorproject.org. Or by participating in our upcoming HAMPTONS Soldier Ride on July 20th by registering to ride atwww.soldierride.org/thehamptons "

On the lighter side I asked Nick will his beautiful young daughter be participating lol soon ? To this he said, "She will be there to cheer the warriors and community riders! Not sure if she will be riding yet. It’s a pretty easy ride from Amagansett to Sag Harbor and back, but 30 miles for a 3yr old might be pushing it. I will let her mother decide that one!

Then I asked if there was one special guy i should acknowledge he said, "It would be easy to say Chris Carney as he really started what has become not only a national movement to help rehabilitate wounded veterans through cycling, but is now global with many other coalition countries like the UK and Australia to name just a couple doing their own programs after participating with Soldier Ride here in the states. So it would be easy to mention Chris (and I just did), but I would like to acknowledge the Wounded Veteran who makes July 20th his first Soldier Ride his or her next big step towards recovery. "

Finally in closing I asked him is there anything else you want to add and he concluded, "Please keep in mind there is another great Soldier Ride day up in Babylon on July 19 that goes to overlook park. Consider two great days of riding and supporting!If you aren’t up for riding you can email me at Nickraus@me.com about how you can volunteer and also a big Thank You to the towns of East Hampton and Babylon and everyone who participates for supporting Soldier Ride and the Wounded Warrior Project. "