A bust of a ride with Mark, Wayne, and Andy. First "issue" was the 3-1/2 miles of dirt gravel road that started at MP 3. We were not expecting that (poor recon on my part). Second, had my first flat tire, compression/pinch flat about 3 miles into that dirt gravel road. Fine, I can fix that but then, third, the rear derailleur somehow got messed up after mounting the rear wheel and would not shift out of the smallest cog. Turned out the cable was loose and had no tension. Messed with that for way too long but finally got the three smallest cogs to shift. Front chain ring OK. Almost abandoned ride but decided I could manage most of the hills. However, by the time we were back in The Plains, the boys were ready to bail and get lunch. I convinced them to bike at least as far as Marshall, which we did (and Wayne got a front flat along the way), after which, Mark and I took a longer route back to The Plains, splitting with Wayne and Andy who went back on Route 55. Even though we did nine additional miles, we arrived only 15 minutes after them.