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Offline mswood

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Racing Report Leg #7
« on: December 26, 2007, 10:21:58 PM »
Racing Report
Amazing Race
Season:  12, Episode #7
Title:  “This is forever, now”, Spoken by Donald.
Provided Funds:  Never disclosed.
Pit Stop:  12 Hours

Teams leave the Pit Stop, The Stone Cross Overlook, on the edge of Dubrovnik, Croatia in the order they arrived*:
1.  Ronald & Christina 2:19am
2.  Kynt & Vyxsin 2:55am
3.  Nathan & Jennifer 3:45am
4.  Tk & Rachel 5:37am
5.  Nicolas & Donald 7:06am

•   And we can confirm this is a 12 hour Pit Stop and Phil, the big fat liar that he is, tells the truth about the arrival and departure times (thanks to Chateau d If)

Teams must now travel by Bus to the port city of Split, Croatia.  From here they will take a ferry across Adriatic Sea to Ancona, Italy. Where their next clue awaits.

Teams reach the bus station, which is less then 15 minutes away from the Pit Stop, in the following order:
1.  Christina & Ronald
2.  Kynt & Vyxsin
3.  Nathan & Jennifer

Who arrive moments before 4:00am

The bus station has routes to Split that start at 5:00am, then one at 6:00am, one at 6:30am, 7:00am, and I assume either ever half hour or at least on the hour afterwards.  The first three teams take (of course) the first bus, which departs at 5:00am.

4.  Tk & Rachel

Who take the bus that departs at 6:00am

5.  Nicholas & Donald

Who should be able to take the a 7:30am bus (if there is one), but at the latest should have the 8:00am.

Teams arrive in Split where they must now take the SNAV Ferry from Split to Ancona.  The ferry (during the summer) departs once a day at 5:00pm.  This leaves time for teams to relax or sleep.  Tk & Rachel and Nathan & Jennifer spend the day on the beach (Insider Clips).

The Ferry takes four hours and 30 minutes to Cross the Adriatic (Yes, for once I actually looked stuff up, so if I am wrong, too bad).  The route is no longer in service so I can’t say how much the fare would have been.

Teams arrive in Ancona and find their clues in the following Order:
1.  Tk & Rachel
2.  Nicolas & Donald

All teams actually walked past the clues except Tk & Rachel, while Nicolas & Donald were the first to notice them grab the clues.  After that your guess is as good as mine.

Teams must now drive themselves deep into Tuscany, to the town of Empoli.  Once there they’ll have to make their way to this airfield, where they’ll find their next clue.  Along with their clue, teams have been given a Blackberry handheld device.  At some point during their two hundred mile drive, they’ll be receiving a message.  However, teams may not attempt to use their Blackberry for any other reason.

The Route Marker States: 

Drive yourself to the town of Empoli.  Once there, find Campo di volo Silvano Poli in Comune di Cortenouva.

Note:  You have been given a Blackberry to take along with you.  At some point during the journey, you may receive a message from someone important on your Blackberry.  If so, have fun and read the message.

The clue has lines of addition info that I cannot read.

Teams get to the marked vehicles and leave in the following order:
1.  Nathan & Jennifer
2.  Nicholas & Donald
3.  Tk & Rachel
4.  Kynt & Vyxsin
5.  Ronald & Christina

All teams get maps and depend on local instructions for what is the fastest way from Ancona to Empoli. 

We learn that Kynt doesn’t drive stick shifts well. 

Ok, MSWOOD’s rules before you apply: :word:
1.  Know how to read a map.
2.  Know how to use a Compass/GPS.
3.  Know how to drive a freakin stick shift!!!! :gaah:

Route #1 (taken by Nathan & Jennifer):
Take A13 North To Forli,
Take SS67 East towards Firenze (from here there are several different routes) I would go
South West on SP127
Take A1 west
Take Strada Grande Comunicazione Firenze-Pisa-Livorno (What the hell road is that A11?) west to Empoli.

Route #2 (Originally taken by Nichoas & Donald, Ronald & Christina, and Kynt & Vyxsin):
Take A14 North to Bologna (and Yes Don sings it B.O.L.O.G.N.A.)
Take A1 south towards Firenze
Take (A11?) west to Empoli

Route #3 (Taken by Tk & Rachel, and boy is it a f*@$ed up route to take):
Take A14 South towards Giulianova
Take A24 South West towards Borgorose
Take E80 South west towards Roma
Take A1 Noth past Firenze
Take A11(?) West to Empoli. 

Note:  It is highly unusual for the production to have the racers drive at night on roads that are in the mountains.  I wonder if they realized that some teams would drive through the mountains.

Note#2:  The Damn efficient detectives have already given damn step-by-step driving routes.  Damn their souls to hell (Ok, I might just be overreacting just a little).

At this point Tk & Rachel leave their clue at the café the got directions from, and drive away. 

There is just a handful of teams (that we know of) who have lost their clue and left:  Wil & Tara (who never got it back asswipes), Derek & Drew (who were within a dozen yards of it and are told by Teri where it is), Freddy & Kendra (Who drop theirs and go grab another, which gives them a 30 minute penalty), Dani & Danielle (twice in Russia, once at the airport arriving and about an hour later at the swimming pool, yes Eric was right they needed to get their head out of their asses), and Rob & Kimberly (who left it on an airplane when they arrived in Chennai, India.  And lost about 40 minutes trying to get back and recover it).  Did I forget anyone?  Idiots.

It is unknown how far they drove before stopping, searching their belongs and SUV, before returning and finding the clue (locals had kept it).  It is a colossal mistake that with the separation between teams, they would not have been able to recover from.   The only positive is that the team never loses its cool and the admonishments are rather civil.  Which is good because …….

Route 2:  Is blocked by an accident at the cutoff for Firenze and Milano.  Ronald & Christina and Kynt & Vyxsin seek an alternative route. 

Nicolas gets out of the car and asks how long the road will be closed.  It will reopen at 6:00am , and they decide to wait it out.   Don notes that it is so easy to get lost when you take side routes.

During the night drive, each team member gets a message on the Blackberry from home.

Nathan and Jennifer arrive at Campo di volo Silvano Poli, where they discover an Hours of Operation (it opens at 7:00am), and a sign to pull a number.  They pull number #1.

Tk & Rachel arrive at sunup and pull #2.  These two teams are the only teams that arrive before it opens.

At around this time the road opens and Nicolas & Donald make their way through Italy.  Ronald & Christina and Kynt & Vyxsin  have been driving all night long.  Kynt & Vyxsin are lost. 

Teams race for the Clue box, in the following order and find both a Roadblock and a Fast Forward clue:
1.  Nathan & Jennifer
2.  Tk & Rachel


3.  Ronald & Christina   :meow:
4.  Nicolas  Donald

Who arrive within moments of each other.  And during both original flights of Tk & Nathan.

5.  Kynt & Vyxsin

Who arrive over an hour (probably much closer to an hour and a half) after the site opened.

ROADBLOCK:  Search from Ultralight

“Who’s feeling “ultra” light of heart?”

The team member must soar through the skies of Tuscany in an Ultralight.  While aloft, they must scan a 6-mile radius of the countryside below for the name of their next destination, Vinci.  When they have think they have spotted it, they must signal the pilot, who will bring them back down.  Once on the ground, they’ll tell the instructor the word, and if it is correct the pilot will hand their next clue.  There is a 30-minute time limit per flight.  Once the half hour is up, team members must make a mandatory landing for refueling before continuing their search.

FAST FORWARD:  Get Tattoo

This is the only Fast Forward on the entire race (LIAR)   :noway:,  The 1st team that finds it and completes it can skip all tasks and go directly to the Pit Stop.

In this Fast Forward teams, make their way to Fabio Studios and take part in the local seafaring tradition.  What they don’t know (won’t hurt them unless they are a big Pussy like Donald, oops spoiler) is that the tradition is the art of tattoo.  Once here, teams will discover that they have to have a permanent tattoo drawn on their body, the letters FF which stand for Fast Forward.  When the (Smoking HOT) artist has finished inking the tattoo on both team members they’ll hand them their Fast Forward reward.

The Fast Forward Clue Reads:

Take art in a centuries old seafaring tradition!!!

Drive yourself  to Via Giovanni Villani 17 in Comune di Emploi and find Studio Fabio.

Which we knew already thinks to “down_with_a”.   :jam:


Just a note both tasks are awesome, and I think I would love to do either.  I personally am not a tattoo fan, but the idea of having a permanent reminder of this once and a life time trip is worth it.  And the Ultralight, damn,  that looks hell of fun.

Nicolas & Donald choose to go for the Fast Forward.

Ronald (the ass) & Christina have difficulty finding where to pull a number from.  And this allows Rachel to hear how he talks to his daughter.

Kynt & Vyxsin are still lost.  Vyxsin is breaking down   :pull  (talking about being up 30 hours), and Kynt (who has trouble driving stick) takes over driving.

Teams finish the detour in the following order:
1.  Nathan & Jennifer (on first attempt)
2.  Ronald & Christina (on first attempt)
3.  Kynt & Vyxsin (On first attempt)
4.  Tk & Rachel (on fourth, yes his fourth attempt)  :pull (:;) :umn:

Teams must now drive themselves to the town of Vinci.  Once here, they’ll find the birth home of famed Italian artist and inventory, Leonardo Da Vinci. 

Nicolas & Donald find the tattoo shop and after a few moments of hesitation get tattoo’s (Nic is the lucky bastard with the HOT tattoo artist, and yes I am obsessing).   :luvya:  Donald say’s he was hoping to have to shave’s his head.  I’m sure Nic was relieved.

They get the tattoos and are directed to the Pit Stop at the Boboli Gardens, in Florence.

Teams arrive in Vinci and find their next route marker, it s a detour in the following order:
1.  Nathan & Jennifer
2.  Ronald & Christina
3.  Kynt & Vyxsin
4.  Tk & Rachel (at this point at least 15-20 minutes after Kynt & Vyxsin, who themselves are probably an hour and a half behind Nathan & Jennifer).

DETOUR:  Invention or Tradition

In this detour teams have to choose between two tasks harking back to the Italian Renaissance.  The choice:  Invention or tradition.

In Invention:  Teams make their way to this courtyard and choose a replica of a centuries old crane designed by Leonardo Da Vinci.  They must first assemble the crane and use it to lift a large stone one-foot off the ground.  Then, they can place a mirror underneath and read the clue printed on the bottom of the rock.

In Tradition:  Teams must make their way to Plazza Guido Masi, there they must learn a traditional local flag routine.  When they execute the routine correctly the lead Flag Man will hand them a flag displaying the name of their next destination.

Teams Initial chose these detours.
Invention:
1.  Kynt & Vyxsin (who switch after locating it)
2.  Tk & Rachel

Tradition:
1.  Nathan & Jennifer
2.  Ronald & Christina

Teams arrive at the Detour locations in the following order:
1.  Nathan & Jennifer (who do lose time by parking in the wrong area and having to walk to find the correct location).
2.  Ronald & Christina (who park in the same location Jennifer & Nathan do
3.  Kynt & Vyxsin (who park in the correct location near the clue box, which is close to Invention)
4.  Tk & Rachel (who also park in the wrong location)
5.  Kynt & Vyxsin try and drive towards the other location, it is during this drive that they have car trouble, probably transmission.  They proceed the rest of the way on foot (which teams like Ron & Christina and Nathan & Jennifer did).  They are able to get a replacement car.  And as bad as this is, it hits them at just about the best time.  They can actually do a task while a replacement vehicle is brought to them.  Unlike being stuck on the side of the round, just waiting, which is what ahs happened I believe in every other time that a car has needed to be replaced.

It is during this time that we see the worst behavior so far from Kynt & Vyxsin.  With Kynt telling her to shut up, and him channeling his inner Adam, "I am going to jump out".  Though surprisingly Kynt is the more masculine of the two (said, so said for Adam).  And Vyxsin just losing it while driving.   :pull :pull  No, happy pink kitten today, thats for sure.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
1.  Nathan & Jennifer (who take at least two attempts to succeed.  And I love when Nathan says, “Jenn you bastard”.   :funny:  Since she is really good at it and he isn’t.  But its said in humor not anger, more please)
2.  Ronald & Christina (who get to the location after Jennifer & Nathan have already driven off to Florence, and take at least two attempts to succeed).
3.  Tk & Rachel (who when driving away pass Kynt & Vyxsin who are walking to the fag waving detour)
4.  Kynt & Vyxsin (who might have done it in one attempt)

On the drive to Florence, Tk & Rachel blow the drivers side front tire.  Tk changes the tire with a donut, and they proceed to the Pit Stop.   :groan:

Rising behind the Pitti Palace is the Boboli Gardens.  First created in 1550 for Eleonora di Toledo, are the first of what has become known as Italian Style Gardens.  This lush outdoor floral garden is the 7th Pit Stop on a race around the world.  Teams arrive in the following Order:
1.  Nicolas & Donald – who win a 5 day trip to Cancun.  So good luck, Nic, hitting on the babes, with Gramps as wingman.
2.  Nathan & Jennifer
3.  Ronald & Christina
4.  Tk & Rachel
5.  Kynt & Vyxsin  :pull

Who are saved by the first on 2 non elimination (WTF, you lying Liars, who lie).   :lies:  They are (he, he  :crazy  I am so evillllll) penalized (he,he)   :lol3:  :wall:  for coming in last place.  Next leg, at some point they will reach a Speed Bump.  A Speed Bump will be a task that only this team must complete.

Note#3:  I did this without checking the boards for transportation facts.  I have sense, seen that travel info has been posted for buses, ferry, and car routes.  But I am to lazy (read stubborn) to change any differences.  Well because I am right, and they are wrong (Que sound effect of a petulant child, that would be me).   )-**



« Last Edit: December 27, 2007, 12:00:17 PM by mswood »

Offline mswood

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2007, 11:05:02 PM »
Team Reports (Boy I haven't done these for awhile).

Nicolas & Donald:  Well you got your first place, but how did you really race.  Any map should have been able to get you the routes you needed to Empoli (especially once you figured out that you needed to go near Firenze (which I could just say Florence, now Couldn't I?).  But they went with what the locals gave them.  Which might be smart, if you consider things like traffic, condition of the road, and the speed you can drive on those roads.  Once they got to the traffic jam (due to a temporary road closure), they did do the right thing in asking when it would reopen.  But I do hope they at least checked their map before deciding to stay put.  It was a risk.  If the closure lasted longer, it could have seriously hurt them.  But after that they apparently had no problem.  We will have to wait for Chateau estimate of Pit Stop time to really judge (hit, hint...).  As for going for the Fast Forward, it was a 50/50 choice.  With one team not yet there, which they should have known they probably should have guessed that they could do either and be safe.  As it was, if they stayed they very well could have been 2nd or third, instead of 1st.

Nathan & Jennifer:  My its sure nice when you guys don't have problems and get along.  My ears really appreciate it.  On the wait for the ferry they made the choice of going to the beach instead of resting.  This worked for them, it didn't for others.  It did help them calm down and connect as too people not on a race, which I believe helped them a lot.  And thinks to them getting the best route, they had time to rest in the SUV before the days tasks started.  While it was foolish to not go for the Fast Forward (unless you feared something like an eating task that you couldn't finish) being first and knowing thats it for the "Only" Fast Forward on the race.  But no real conflict arose from it.  Nathan handled the roadblock fine, they did surprisingly well at the Detour and really worked well together (in fact teamwork wise, I think this was them at their best).  They did make some mistakes, having trouble driving at one stage (thinks to the clips), but even that frustration they handled really well (though knowing that they should be 1st or 2nd didn't hurt, I am sure.  And making the common error of using the wrong parking lot at the detour added a lot of time to the task (but it did for all but Tk & Rachel).  All in all a really strong day for them.

Ronald & Christina:  SHUT UP RON.  Ok, got that out of my system.  They slept on board (On the hard deck and hard chairs, damn ass), but got some sleep.  THey got the same directions (though from different locals) as Nic & Don.  But they choose to find an alternate route.  This added hours to their trip but they did manage to arrive moments before Nic & Don.  Christina did fine at the roadblock, and the did fine at the detour.  Really were they continue to have problems is working as a team, and actually not having race personal, Christina, or random locals strangle Ron to death....  This type of behavior causes mistakes like having trouble locating the Pull A NUmber sign, or driving away before your daughter is in the car (I mean really Christina is the one who should drive way).  A good leg, but For this team (and Nathan and Jennifer) India is going to be sweet torture.

Tk & Rachel:  Can someone get them onstar or something.  Just pipe it into their brain.  I mean I love this team, and how well they keep their cool (and this episode really did test them), but come on.  I mean you guys better be High because that's the only excuse I will buy.  First Rachel commits Crime #1:  Never, ever lose your clue.  Right there that should have been the race for them.  They are incredible lucky that they recovered from that, and the clue isn't up on ebay right now taunting them forever.  And while they did get the directions from a local, did you even check a map to see if the local was on crack?  You almost looped around southern Italy, dumb asses.  But the luck of the stoner worked for you and you got there in 2nd place.  And Tk you better be damn lucky that you didn't rag hard on Rachel for losing the clue, because Karma would have been a big fat bitch.  As you SUCKED at the roadblock (I thought pot was good for eye sight, who knew).  You took 2 hours at what took other teams 30 minutes.   Yikes.  You guys did park right though (Got to give them credit for something).  You seemed to do the detour fine (hard to tell since you were the only one who did that task).  Again, a terrible, terrible leg, but one where you guys both kept your cool, though I am quite sure you were both upset and frustrated with the other.  YOu two are Kris and Jon, just without the racing skills.

And then there was
Kunt & Vyxsin:  First apparently you two didn't rest on the ferry or the wait for the ferry or the bus ride to Split.  Bad move.  This I am sure helped with the pissy attitude, and trouble navigating.  You guys as well took the same route as Nic & Don, but like Ron & Christina looked for an alternate route.  And this really hurt your team, as you ended up nearly an hour an a half behind the other teams.  If it wasn't for Tk complete inability to see giant letters, you would have been sunk.  But once you did the roadblock you two were far enough back that you really couldn't afford any more mistakes.  And unfortunately you made them (even if it was a common one), by parking at the wrong spot, it forced you to loose time getting to Invention.  Then switching tasks cost more time, compounded with your break down with and in the car.  While having your car break down here saved you time (as opposed to breaking down driving between route markers) these mistakes, errors and bad luck allowed Tk & Rachel to pass you before you got to the Flag side of the detour.  But unlike some teams that break down, I don't feel like this is going to throw your working relation off.  A bad episode, in performance and behavior.


Offline mswood

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2007, 11:22:38 PM »
Average Pit Stop Placement Comparison:

Kynt & Vyxsin         3.43
Tk & Rachel            3.86
Nathan & Jennifer   4.00
Ronald & Christina  4.43
Nicolas & Donald    4.86

Compared to other teams from previous seasons:

16.  Kynt & Vyxsin are tied with Rob & Kimberly from season 10, a team that also fought with each other in leg 7 (well most legs, actually)

26.  Tk & Rachel  are between teams like Brandon & Nicole and Jonathan & Victoria (God, two teams, could they be further apart behavior) and Gary & Dave and Lynn & Alex

30.  Nathan & Jennifer are tied with people like Gary & Dave, Lynn & Alex, and Dustin & Kandice (AS).

40.  Ronald & Christina are tied with several winners of AR.  People like Chip and KIm, Freddy and clan member Kendra, and Boston hotties Chris & Alex.

48.  Nicolas & Donald are tied with my favorite sibling team Blake and Paige and blind Fran & Berry.

Out of 64 racing teams.
The best record  for any team is:
1.  Eric & Jeremy (season 9)   with a 1.71 (it is the only leg of their season where they didn't finish 1st or 2nd).
These teams all averaged lower Pit Stop scores and made the final three:
50.  David & Jeff (season 4)            5.14
51.  Adam & Rebecca (season 6)     5.14
54.  Charla & Mirna (AS)                 5.29
56.  Ray & Yolanda (season 9)         5.43
60.  Teri & Ian (season 3)               6.29
63.  Lyn & Karlyn (season 10)         6.29
And at this stage only one team averaged worse then Lyn & Karlyn and Teri & Ian and that was Season 1's Lenny & Karyn who were eliminated on this leg.


Offline mswood

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #3 on: December 27, 2007, 12:02:40 AM »
Oh, I almost forgot.

At 68 Donald becomes the oldest racer to ever win a leg of the Amazing Race.  And Before people say yeah, but he used a fast forward.  Remember for the first 4 seasons their were Fast Forwards in every leg.

Teri & Ian (at 50) were the oldest before him (also with a Fast Forward, though they did eventually win some without).

Offline puddin

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #4 on: December 27, 2007, 11:29:32 AM »
So much to read and take in right now mswood but my God I love you! I can't stop laughing at your comments, too freaking funny  :lol: :hfive:


Offline TARAsia Fan

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2007, 12:26:49 PM »
You're the best, mswood!  :tup: :tup: :tup:
Just here to visit.

Offline Red Devils

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #6 on: December 27, 2007, 01:02:45 PM »
Great Recap Mswood... As always, you are awesome!!!!!!!! :wohoo: :jumpy: :tup:

Offline cinni

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #7 on: December 27, 2007, 01:28:44 PM »
 :-* thank you. made for a most excellent lunch time read.  :hearts:
always remember....when life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!

Offline apskip

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #8 on: December 27, 2007, 04:37:47 PM »
mswood, fine job as usual. I have my typical minor corrections for accuracy on a few points:

1. The bus departure for Don/Nic from Dubrovnik was 0800 as there was no bus between 0700 and 0800.
2. You didn't mention it, but those buses were scheduled to take 4.5 hours. The route actually briefly goes into Bosnia before reemerging into Croatia.
3. You are close on the SNAV ferry, but no cigar. It was scheduled to and actually operated with departure at 1700 and arrival at 2140. that is 4 hours, 40 minutes, not 10 minutes shorter.

Offline mswood

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Re: Racing Report Leg #7
« Reply #9 on: December 27, 2007, 04:45:26 PM »
I went with what SNAV has on its offical site which is 4 and half hours.  Though since the route is no longer used, I was curious how accurate the info would be.

On the buses when I checked I did notice they went out of country but I never paid attention to the length of travel.