DAY 9 SammyRides Las Cruces, New Mexico

A busy day of riding on highway, I 10.....but not before our leave from Deming, where we visited the Deming Chamber of Commerce at 9 AM.  Our hope was to have some residents of Deming join us for a few miles, but sadly, no takers!!!  Can't blame them....interstate highway; not the biggest draw for bike riders.  However, we enjoyed our visit with the staff at the Chamber of Commerce, and, as we have found throughout these nine days, the friendliest of people ever.  It's always difficult for us to leave a community because we never have the time to really enjoy the many things available within each area.  Our schedule is terribly tight and with the riders going approximately 40-50 miles/day, we always arrive at our next stop ready for a hot shower, dinner, and bed!!!
Adolf, Mike Brown and Michael had a good day of riding, although as we got closer to Las Cruces, there was ongoing construction which made bike riding way too difficult, and so, into the van for the last 7 miles for each of them.  
We arrived in Las Cruces around 2:00, giving us just enough time to unpack the van and bikes, get our bearings and head off to Memorial Hospital to meet many of the staff who came to the conference room to hear about SammyRides. Unfortunately we weren't able to visit with any of the kids because many were not well enough to meet us, however, we did leave medals and letters for the nurse who works in the cancer unit, to give our gifts to each of the children and to let them know that each of them is such a hero to us.
  Michael spoke about how SammyRides evolved and why we are so passionate about doing this ride.  Following his talk, the local television station interviewed him for a spot to be aired sometime this eve.  
We were happy to see that another 30 pound box of Tootsie Rolls arrived for all the staff to enjoy....frankly, I have never seen so many Tootsie Rolls!!!!!!  Literally, hundreds of them!!!!  We can't thank the Tootsie Roll Company enough for sending a 30 pound box to each of the eight hospitals we are visiting!!!
The four of us came back, rested, even took a short nap, and around 6 went off to dinner near our hotel.  Food never tasted so good as it does after a long day of riding!
Tomorrow, we head to El Paso, Texas....nothing is scheduled so we won't feel rushed and can take our time leaving in the morning before heading off.
From Michael, Adolf, Mike B. and myself, we send our love and best wishes to you all!!!  Lois