I didn't ride the dirty raid. That may be a fair assessment of the route. As everyone knows, it's very difficult to string together much of ANY off-pavement dirt roads in Texas, & dang near impossible to find many public dirt county roads that riders may find "challenging".
I'd encourage you & your 4 friends to put together an event for 80-100 riders, mapping multiple routes for different styles of riding, line up lodging & food for everyone, co-ordinate a raffle & raise money for charity. All without pay, at y'all's expense, & in y'all's spare time.
If y'all ain't comin back due solely to an un-challenging public road route, I think y'all missed the point of the event. I can ride dirt roads anytime I want. I enjoy seeing old riding buddies, meeting new guys, talking & looking at adventure bikes, & raising money for good charities.