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Offline maf

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Racing report TAR29: Episode 12 is on page 2
« on: April 04, 2017, 01:47:47 PM »
Placeholder for title.

Unfortunately I will not be able to give detailed flight data this season since flightstats have blocked their historical flight lookup tool.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2017, 11:52:42 PM by maf »

Offline maf

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TAR 29 Episode 1
« Reply #1 on: April 04, 2017, 01:49:41 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 1, "We're coming for you, Phil!"
Film date: 2016-06-10 - 2016-06-11

This season has a big twist. Instead of 11 teams of two with a pre-existing relationship we have 22 individuals who will be paired up at the starting line. The contestants are:

  • Olive, Firefighter "I definitely don't want to be dragged down by somebody"
  • Brooke, Criminal Attorney "I'm so nervous about who's my partner's gonna be"
  • Michael, Butcher "I'd prefer somebody who has a little more charm than me because I can be a pain in the ass"
  • Shamir, Wall Street Banker "I doesn't even matter who you team me up with. I'm gonna throw them over my shoulder and make sure we win"
  • Jenn, Model "I'll definitely use my looks to my advantage",
  • Jessie, K9 Police Officer "I'm 6"3' and it's intimidating most people. I'm an alpha male, I can't help it"
  • Seth, Police Officer "I'm trained to work well off the bat with a partner"
  • Scott, Recruiting Manager "I am a gay red-head"
  • Redmond, Former Navy Corpsman, lost a leg in Afghanistan "Your goal should be to continue to succeed"
  • Vanck, Wall Street Analyst "I guess I'm intellectually oriented"
  • Francesca, Army Drill Sergeant "I've been in the military for 15 years"
  • Matt, Pro Snowboarder "To come home with the gold mean so much for me"
  • Floyd, College Drum Major "I've been watching the Amazing Race since I was in fifth grade"
  • Becca, Rock Climbing Instructor "I'm very enthusiastic, fun loving, goofy"
  • Liz, Auctioneer "I could be in the study, but I would rather be out on the farm with my horse"
  • Sara, Luxury Real Estate Agent
  • Joey, Police Sergeant "I was born the third of four kids to a single parent"
  • Ashton, Residential Real Estate Agent "What I'm looking for in a race partner is somebody who brings even more physical strength"
  • Logan, Surgical Consultant
  • Kevin, Athletic Trainer
  • Tara, Army officer
  • London, Street Artist

The race starts in Grad Hope Park in downtown Los Angeles. Phil tells the contestants that they will visit 9 countries, 17 cities and travel 36,000 miles. The contestants have never spoken to each other, but before they have to pick their partners there is a challenge. Phil tells them that they have to pick up a piece of luggage which has an Panamanian flag attached to it.
 "You're gonna go 2 blocks South-West, 7 blocks South-East", Phil tells the racers where the luggage store is

And once Phil asks they what they are waiting for the racers are off.
 "It's a good thing I memorized all the flags in the world before I came on the show, Floyd has prepared
 "These feet are made for walking, not running", Liz seem confused about what type of show she is in

The luggage store is called F&M Gallery and is located on the intersection between E 11th Street and S Los Angeles St. This is about 1.1km from the park.

People complete this first challenge in the following order:
 1. Seth
 2. Matt
 3. Olive
 4. Shamir
 5. Sara
 6. Scott
 7. Becca
 8. Vanck
 9. Redmond
    Joey, had to go back since he brought a bag with the wrong flag
 10. Tara
 11. London
 12. Floyd
 13. Jenn
 14. Michel
 15. Kevin
 16. Brooke
 17. Liz
 18. Logan
 19. Jessie
 20. Francesca
 21. Ashton
 22. Joey

Once all are back we are ready for the team selection. This is done in the order that contestants finished the first task. So Seth, who finished first gets to pick his teammate first. Then the person who finished second and so on until everybody belongs to a team. The teams become (with the selector first):

Seth & Olive, #TeamAmerica, "She's the first lady to arrive"
Matt & Redmond, #TheBoys, "Redmond seems like a guy who believes in himself"
Shamir & Sara, #TheSandSExpress, "Would I like to be with the super hot chick? Yes!
Scott & Brooke, #TeamBrookeandScott
Becca & Floyd, #TeamFun
Vanck & Ashton, #TeamVanckandAshton
Tara & Joey, #TeamMomandDad "I'm going to go with the underdog"
London & Logan, #TeamLoLo "I need some muscle man
Jenn & Kevin, #LongHraiDontCare
Michael & Liz, #TeamLizandMike
Jessie & Francesca, #SwoleSisters

 "We had a few words earlier", Jessie about getting teamed up with with Francesca

Phil now tells teams that their first clue is inside the luggage they fetched, and that one of the bags also contain an express pass (the only one). Then he tells them that when he says go they should run out of the park and grab a taxi and make their way to the airport.

Jessie & Francesca do not have to grab a taxi. Phil will drive them to the airport himself since none of them got to choose heir teammate.

A mad dash for the taxis follows. There seems to be plenty of taxis
around so all teams get underway quickly.

Floyd is the lucky contestant who finds the express pass in his bag. In the extra scenes we see him and Becca decide to not tell the other teams that they have it. This feels like a good strategic move if they can pull it off.

The clue tells teams to fly to Panama City. There are two direct flights which teams may travel on.

The first flight is:
  CM362  LAX-PTY 22:23 - 07:00+1

and carries:
  Matt & Redmond
  Becca & Floyd
  Brooke & Scott
  London & Logan
  Seth & Olive

The second flight is:
  CM303  LAX-PTY 01:06 - 09:36  (schedule 23:43 - 08:24)

and carries:
  Jessie & Francesca
  Vanck & Ashton
  Tara & Joey
  Shamir & Sara
  Kevin & Jenn
  Liz & Michael

At the airport Olive is asked if there is romance between her and her partner.
 "I don't think I'm his type", Olive
 "I told Olive I'm gay and have a boyfriend", Seth

Once teams land they must pick up a rental car and drive themselves to the Miraflores locks where they will find their next clue.

This is a welcome change to a race which has had very little self-driving lately. Navigating through the busy streets of Panama City turns out to be very hard, specially for some teams.
 "The compete lack of street signs is a nice touch", Seth
 "Everybody who you ask in Panama does not know where the Panama Canal is",  Scott
 "This is an Amazing Race nightmare", Scott

 "I'm gonna tell you one thing about me that you should know, telling me to calm down makes me worse", Brooke
 "I can tell", Scott

 "There should be a sign you know. It's the Panama canal", Joey
 "Should being the key word", Tara

 "Good Gravy, I try not to swear", Jessie
 "I know and that's what I'm worried about as I have a mouth like a sailor", Francesca

 "Once you hit a roundabout take a 135° right turn", Vanck gets technical
 "I don't now what that means", Ashton does not follow

 "My Spanish is actually better when I'm drunk", Jenn

Teams arrive at the locks (32km 35-50min) in the following order:
  1. Seth & Olive, they pass Phil who live narrates their progress
  2. Becca & Floyd
  3. Brooke & Scott, arrive as #2 are leaving the parking lot
  4. London & Logan
  5. Matt & Redmond
  ?. Shamir & Sara
  ?. Vanck & Ashton
  ?. Tara & Joey
  ?. Jessie & Francesca
 10. Liz & Michael
 11. Kevin & Jenn
 
Route info: "Drive to the Panama Rain forest Discovery center in Gamboa and search for your clue in the Gamboa tower."

 "The never-ending spiral of dizziness", Becca while climbing the tower

The Gamboa tower (21km ~30min) turns out to be 40m high and reaches above the forest canopy. Teams reach the clue at the top in the following order:
  1(+0) Seth & Olive
  2(+0) Becca & Floyd
  3(+0) Brooke & Scott
  ? London & Logan
  ? Matt & Redmond
  6(+0) Shamir & Sara
  7(+?) Vanck & Ashton
  8(+?) Tara & Joey
  9(+?) Jessie & Francesca
 10(+0) Liz & Michael
 11(+0) Kevin & Jenn

Detour: Shoot & Scoot

In shoot teams must use a traditional dugout canoe and paddle out into the river. Here they must use a traditional bow and arrow to knock over two silver fish targets.

In scoot teams must compete against a professional crew in a 400m sprint. They will be paddling a modern version of the dugout canoe. If they loose they will get a 50m head start on their second attempt and 100m on the third.

The teams who select shoot quickly realize that the canoe is unstable and it is very hard to shoot with an old-style bow and arrow. Most teams who select this detour quickly give up and switch to the other one.

On the other hand the teams who select scoot find out that the teams they are competing against are very good. One could even say it is a humbling experience for most teams. It is even more humbling for the teams who manage to flip over in their canoes.

 "We're like making complete fools of ourselves", Joey
 "We did get on each others nerves a little bit today", Ashton

Kevin & Jenn managed to make at least one attempt at scoot before the detour was closed for the night (it got dark). They got their next clue as they were told this.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
  1(+0) Seth & Olive, scoot on their 3rd attempt
  2(+0) Becca & Floyd, shoot (with Becca doing the shooting)
  3(+?) Matt & Redmond, scoot on their 1st attempt
  4(-1) Brooke & Scott, started shoot but switched to scoop which they did on their 3rd attempt
  5(+1) Shamir & Sara, scoot on their 3rd attempt
  6(+?) London & Logan, started shoot but switched to scoop which they did on their 3rd attempt
  7(+1) Tara & Joey, scoot
  8(-1) Vanck & Ashton, started scoot, switched to shoot and then back again.
  9(+0) Jessie & Francesca, scoot
 10(+0) Liz & Michael, started shoot but switched to scoop which they did on their 3rd attempt
 11(+0) Kevin & Jenn, tried scoot but only had time for one, failed, attempt before it closed for the night
 
The next route info tells teams to make their way to the first pit stop at Cinta Costeras Tres next to an enormous flag.

Teams reach Phil (36km ~45min) in the following order:
  1(+0) Seth & Olive
  2(+0) Becca & Floyd
  3(+0) Matt & Redmond
  4(+0) Brooke & Scott
  5(+0) Shamir & Sara
  6(+1) Tara & Joey
  7(+1) Vanck & Ashton
  8(-2) London & Logan
  9(+0) Jessie & Francesca
        Kevin & Jenn, are given a 2h penalty for not completing the detour
 10(+0) Liz & Michael
 11(+0) Kevin & Jenn

 "We tried our best we ran as hard as we could", Jenn
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 08:19:34 AM by maf »


Offline Marionete

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Re: Racing report: Episode 1 is on page 1
« Reply #2 on: April 04, 2017, 02:48:12 PM »
I always love these!!

But wow, the many question marks prove what a big portion of the leg was underedited. :lol:

Offline BourkieBoy

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Re: Racing report: Episode 1 is on page 1
« Reply #3 on: April 04, 2017, 07:40:46 PM »
How much information!

Well done maf! Keep it up!

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 2
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2017, 01:55:34 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 2, "Scared Spitless"
Film date: 2016-06-11 - 2016-11-13

This episode starts with some flashbacks to the previous episode where we get to see how well/no-well some teams operated.

The last pit stop was next to a giant flag in Panama City. This episode seems to start just outside the park where the flag was. It i a bit hard to make out because we only get to see the first team depart.

Teams probably depart in the order:
  1. Seth & Olive, at 23:16
  2. Becca & Floyd
  3. Matt & Redmond
  4. Brooke & Scott
  5. Shamir & Sara
  6. Tara & Joey
  7. Vanck & Ashton
  8. London & Logan
  9. Jessie & Francesca
 10. Liz & Michael

The first clue directs teams to fly to São Paulo, Brazil. They must book their tickets at a specific travel agency (Fantasy Tours) which tuns out to open at 05:00 the following morning.

Predictably there is mayhem at the travel agency when all teams try to book the best possible flights. Shamir gets really upset when his agent is a bit slow and somebody else snatches the seats on the first flight.

Teams end up on six different flights which leave Panama on the 12th and arrive in São Paulo on the 13th. The flights were probably:

Flight #1
  CM725  PTY-GRU  15:43 - 00:45+1

carries:
 Matt & Redmond
 Vanck & Ashton

Flight #2
  CM703  PTY-GRU  18:32 - 03:30+1

carries:
 Seth & Olive
 Shamir & Sara
 Brooke & Scott

Flight #3
  AV8375 PTY-BOG  17:50 - 19:20
  LA3505 BOG-GRU  21:30 - 05:50+1

carries:
 Liz & Michael

Flight #4
  AV8375 PTY-BOG  17:50 - 19:20
  AV85   BOG-GRU  22:04 - 06:15+1

carries:
 London & Logan

Flight #5
  CM749  PTY-GRU  21:14 - 06:20+1

carries:
 Becca & Floyd
 Tara & Joey

Flight #6
  AM625  PTY-MEX  16:15 - 19:50
  AM14   MEX-GRU  00:48 = 12:27  (scheduled 23:25 - 10:55)

carries:
 Jessie & Francesca

Once in São Paulo teams head to a helipad where they will sign up for helicopter flights which will leave in the morning. There are reports from people on the ground that some teams went to an predetermined hotel where they could spend the rest of the night before going to the helipad.

Vanck & Ashton made a deal with Matt & Redmond that they would share a taxi and flip a coin at the sign-up sheet. But there were no big taxis to be had and when Matt & Redmond arrived first they saw no reason to stick to the deal.
 "We may have been jerks", Redmond
 "Sorry not sorry", Matt after "apologizing"
 "This was a slap in the face and a stab in the back", Ashton is upset

Teams depart one at a time on the helicopters in the following order:
  1. Matt & Redmond
  2. Vanck & Ashton
  3. Shamir & Sara
  4. Seth & Olive
  5. Brooke & Scott
  6. Liz & Michael
  7. London & Logan
  8. Becca & Floyd
  9. Tara & Joey
 10. Jessie & Francesca

The helicopter ride is pretty and teams get a sense of how big São Paulo is and how bad the traffic seem to be.

Once they land they have to make their way by taxi to Praça da sé. The local detectives report that Jessie & Francesca took the Metro instead, but this cost them time and the telecast does not mention it.

Teams reach the clue box at Praça da sé in in the following order:
  1(+0) Matt & Redmond
  2(+1) Shamir & Sara
  3(-1) Vanck & Ashton
  4(+0) Seth & Olive
  5(+1) Liz & Michael
  6(-1) Brooke & Scott
  7(+0) London & Logan
  8(+0) Becca & Floyd
  9(+0) Tara & Joey
 10(+0) Jessie & Francesca

Detour: keep the beat or work your feet

In keep the beat teams must join a samba band. They must learn to play two percussion instruments, the Surdo (a big drum) and the Chocalho (shakers). They will get their next clue once they manage to keep the beat, hold the instruments right and stop in an ordered fashion when the band stops.

In work your feet teams must make their way to a boxing gym located under a highway. Here they must build a workout station with rudimentary equipment.

Building the gym seems fairly easy. The only teams struggling are Matt & Redmond who forgot to pour water into the barrel and Tara & Joey who drop a washer on the ground.
 "It could be something really tiny or it could be something right before our faces", Matt when the judge does not approve their gym

Brooke & Scott have a hard time finding the gym and they get out of their taxi. As they are running along the sidewalk Brooke trips, falls and hurts her arm.
 "Pain is temporary, elimination is forever", Brooke

 "Being a band geek pays off, stay in the marching bad, be a nerd man", Michel gives advice after the detour

 "I played base drum in High School", Floyd feel this detour was made for him

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
  1(+0) Matt & Redmond, feet
  2(+1) Vanck & Ashton, feet
  3(+1) Seth & Olive, feet
  4(-2) Shamir & Sara, music on their 3rd attempt
  5(+0) Liz & Michael, music on their 2nd attempt
  6(+1) London & Logan, music on their 3rd attempt
  7(+1) Becca & Floyd, music on their 1st attempt
  8(-2) Brooke & Scott, feet
  9(+0) Tara & Joey, feet
 10(+0) Jessie & Francesca, music according to local detectives they made at least 6 attempts

Route info: "Make your way to Avenida Paulista and find the marked bicycle".

 "As long as we beat Vanck & Ashton that's good", Redmond as they search for the cyclist

Jessie & Francesca show up at the road block location as Sara waits for Shamir to finish the task. Unfortunately for them they do not see the cyclist even though she passes right in front of them. Sara helpfully points them in the wrong direction. This costs them about 30 minutes. But they have themselves to blame.

Teams find the cyclist in the following order:
  1(+1) Vanck & Ashton
  2(+3) Liz & Michael
  3(-2) Matt & Redmond, got dropped off at the wrong location
  4(-1) Seth & Olive
  5(-1) Shamir & Sara
  6(+2) Brooke & Scott
  7(+0) Becca & Floyd
  8(+1) Tara & Joey
  9(-3) London & Logan
 10(+0) Jessie & Francesca

Road block: "Who likes things squeaky clean?"

In this road block contestants must rappel down a 15 story building and thoroughly wash a very dirty marked window on the way. Once the window is perfectly clean they will get their next clue. One tricky detail is that you can't go back up so if you miss a spot higher up on the window you have to go down and rappel from the top again.

Teams get the road block clue right below the building so the latter teams can see what the task is and choose accordingly.

 "I am scared spitless", Liz gets the title as she is about to begin her descent
 "She's taking her time, she's smart man", Michael about Liz
 "I have been a paratrooper in the army for 20 years", Tara feels confident

Poor Scott, who is extremely afraid of heights, must to do this road block since Brooke has a hurt arm.
 "I have a fear of heights and falling", Scott
 "I tough you were afraid of heights man", Tara to Scott as they are cleaning their windows
 "I am, I cried the first 20 minutes of this challenge", Scott replies

 "I like this a lot better than playing the drum", Shamir feels god in the beginning of the task
 "My testicle is about to rupture, I need some help", Shamir is in pain by the window
Shamir suddenly experiences so much pain that he tries to break the window to get into the building. He manages to crack the window but not more so he has to rappel down. Once on the ground he seeks medical attention in the ambulance production has standing by.
 "I think his junk is hurting him right now", Sara narrates
 "Can I keep going? Is it dangerous?", Shamir in the ambulance
 "If a million dollars was on the line and I had some discomfort I'd probably suck it up and keep going", Sara

Shamir takes so long time with this task that Jessie & Francesca, who seem to have landed hours after the others, catch up with them and we get to see him and Francesca side by side cleaning windows.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+1)Liz* & Michael     (1-0)
2(-1)Vanck & Ashton*    (0-1)
3(+0)Matt & Redmond*    (0-1)
4(+0)Seth* & Olive      (1-0)Had to go back up again
5(+1)Brooke & Scott*    (0-1)
6(+1)Becca* & Floyd     (1-0)
7(+2)London & Logan*    (0-1)
8(+1)Tara* & Joey       (1-0)
9(-4)Shamir* & Sara     (1-0)Had to go back up again, four times
10(+0)Jessie & Francesca*(0-1)Had to go back up again, once

The next clue tells teams to find Phil at the next it Stop in the urban rain forest of Trianon Park.

We get a race for first where Liz & Michael has a head start but Vanck & Ashton are not far behind. The former jump into a taxi while the latter decide to run since the pit stop is close.

Team find Phil in the following order:
  1(+0) Liz & Michael, win a trip to Barbados
  2(+0) Vanck & Ashton
  3(+0) Matt & Redmond
  4(+0) Seth & Olive
  5(+1) Becca & Floyd
  6(-1) Brooke & Scott, 4 feet behind #5
  7(+1) Tara & Joey
  8(-1) London & Logan, while teams #5-#7 are still on the mat
  9(+0) Shamir & Sara
 10(+0) Jessie & Francesca, are eliminated

In the previous leg Vanck & Ashton had serious issues with working together but in this leg not so much. They seemed to be a completely different team and worked well together.

We also get some very awkward scenes from the mat with Sara & Shamir.
 "Shamir, you're angry", Phil
 "Very angry, I was stuck by my balls hanging, really funny", Shamir
Phil then tells him that harnesses happen a lot on the race. The subtext is that he needs to toughen up. Meanwhile Sara is almost in tears, she is clearly frustrated with her partner.
 "I think I learned a lot about him and gonna figure out how to handle things from here on out", Sara

The way the episode is cut clearly suggests that Shamir is a bit of a crybaby. How much truth there is in that is impossible to say. But we can see that Sara is not happy with him and as a team they have many issues to resolve.

Personally I am very sorry to see Jessie & Francesca go home. They did exchange heated words in the starting line task but quickly found each other and worked very well together. What did them in was mainly flights, but
also trusting Sara who led them astray.
 "I have no regrets how being a partner with her turned out", Jessie
 "We had a blast", Jessie
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 08:21:54 AM by maf »


Offline Marionete

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 2 is on page 1
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2017, 04:49:11 PM »
Small correction: Logan completed the Roadblock, not London.

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 2 is on page 1
« Reply #6 on: April 12, 2017, 11:16:23 PM »
Small correction: Logan completed the Roadblock, not London.

OOPS, thanks. I have fixed this now.

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 3
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2017, 12:51:55 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 3, "Bucket List Type Stuff"
Film date: probably 2016-06-14 - 2016-06-16

This episode starts with a scene filmed immediately after the pit stop of the previous leg. Shamir & Sara are lead to an area where the rest of the contestants are waiting. It feels like they are waiting to be interviewed about the leg. Sara is irritated that Shamir goes off in a corner with some of the other guys to complain about his hurt junk.

The last pit stop was in Trianon Park, and this also seems to be where teams are released in the following order:
1.Liz & Michael  08:47
2.Vanck & Ashton 08:48+0:01
3.Matt & Redmond 08:59+0:12
4.Seth & Olive   09:32+0:45
5.Becca & Floyd  09:56+1:09
6.Brooke & Scott 09:57+1:10
7.Tara & Joey    09:58+1:11
8.London & Logan 10:04+1:17
9.Shamir & Sara  11:23+2:36

Route info: Fly to the city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Once teams land they must make their way to the Askari Monument. The next clue Will be buried in a newspaper which they can get in a nearby newsstand. Teams get $320 for this leg of the race.

The clue also warns that there is a blind double U-turn ahead.

In the taxis to the airport we get to hear the different teams talk about the U-turn. Some suspect they will be U-turned and some plan to use it. Ashton really wants to U-turn Matt & Redmond since they did not honor their deal in the beginning of leg #2.
 "I just don't like it when people screw me over", Ashton

All teams are on the same flight. Probably:
  SA223  GRU-JNB  18:00-07:25+1
  SA188  JNB-DAR  13:35-17:55


This means that they all arrive in Dar Es Salaam in the evening of the 15th. Once they land there is the customary mad dash for the taxis and on to the monument.
 "Pretty awesome, I never in a million years thought I would be here. This is like bucket list type stuff right here", Logan gets the title

This leg takes place during Ramadan so teams must cover their legs and arms and may not eat anything during their day out of respect for the local culture.

The newspaper stand is easy to find and they seem to just hand papers over to the racers when they arrive. Team frantically search through the paper for their next clue. The clue seem easy to find. It is a big ad which reads:
Quote
      TRAVEL TO ZANZIBAR
      For your next clue

        Ferry times:
  07.00, 09.30, 12.30, 15.30

       Name of Ferry is:
 "Kilimanjaro Fast Ferry to ZNZ"

Official tickets available only at:
   AZAM MARINE ticket office on
         Edward Sokoine

There is a bit of a kerfuffle at the ferry terminal where teams, specially Ashton, get upset that Matt & Redmond cut the line. According to Becca & Floyd this is not quite what happened. Becca & Floyd arrived together with Matt & Redmond after all the other teams. The other teams were in the general queue but Becca notice a special ticket counter to the side which was marked with a race flag so they went there. Some of the other teams got upset for this, but they only directed their anger at Matt & Redmond.

This turns out to be rather pointless since they all get tickets on the 07:00 ferry. The ferry ride is a beautiful and a interlude. But once the ferry docks in Zanzibar the race is back on.

Teams must have received some extra information along the way because they all know they must make their way to Mkokotoni Market. Here they will find the U-turn. Teams reach the blind U-turn board in the following order:
 1. Tara & Joey, U-turns Seth & Olive
 2. Vanck & Ashton, U-turns Matt & Redmond
 3. Liz & Michael 
 4. Brooke & Scott
 5. Becca & Floyd
 6. Matt & Redmond
 7. London & Logan
 8. Seth & Olive
 9. Shamir & Sara

 "We knew from the get go that they were probably the strongest", Tara on why they U-turned Seth & Olive

Redmond gets upset about the U-turn and also has no trouble figuring out it was Vanck & Ashton.
 "We're gonna get you guys, you know that", Redmond to Vanck & Ashton
 "You only U-turn if you're weak, you're weak", Redmond tries to insult, either he doesn't know how the race works or he is letting his emotions speak
 "Dude, the guys are pissed", Michael observes the action

The clue behind the U-turn is a detour: Build it or Weave it

In build it each team must build two school-desks from the parts provided. Once the desks are approved they must carry them to a classroom and get a quick Swahili lesson.

In weave it teams must weave two shopping bags from coconut leaves.

Both detours are located across the bay and teams must travel there on a dhow (a traditional sailing vessel).

 "I can weave it like no other", London is a yarn artist and confident

Almost all teams choose build, and they soon realize that there is no finished example. They must figure out how to build them by themselves. This makes the task easier for Matt & Redmond when they arrive later because by then some teams are almost done and they can look at those examples.

The hard part with building is not figuring out how to put the parts together but rather to get them to stay together. Everything is held together by pegs and dowels and these tend to fall out when the judge whacks the desks during his inspection. Teams also do not get any hammers but must use a piece of wood to hammer them in.

Then carrying the desks to the school (SMZ Skili Ya Msingo Mkokotoni) is also very exhausting. Finally the Swahili lesson seems to consist of repeating four phrases which seems fairly easy. The phrases are:
 "Good News" - "Habari njema"
 "Good Travels" - "Safari njema"
 "Thank you very much" - "Asante sana"
 "Goodbye" = "Kwaherini"

Still the build detour seems much quicker than the weaving. The impressing part of weaving is the guy called Butterfly who climbs up the very high palm tree to cut down some leaves. He is fantastic, not only does he do a very impressive climb but he sings as well. The actual weaving turns out to be difficult and tedious.

 "I'm horrible at building things. My sister builds all my Ikea stuff", Shamir
 "I come from a long line of carpenters so I'd better be good at this", Michael
 "I thought I would be good at this", London has trouble weaving
 "This is kind of embarrassing but I got nervous", London when they switch to build
 "This is designed to fail", Brooke has a hard time building
 "I'm getting wicked stressed now", Olive as she struggles with the weaving

London said in a separate video that Shamir & Sara switched from build to weave and then back again.

In one of the extra scenes we get to see Liz & Michael argue while they carry the desk. But once they are done the apologize to each other and move on. I get the impression that it was hot during this leg and carrying the desks was very exhausting.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 -     Seth & Olive, build
 1(+2) Liz & Michael, build
 -     Matt & Redmond, weave
 2(-1) Tara & Joey, build
 3(+1) Brooke & Scott, build
 4(-2) Vanck & Ashton, build
 5(+0) Becca & Floyd, build
 6(+1) London & Logan, started weave it but switched to build
 7(-1) Matt & Redmond, build
 8(+1) Shamir & Sara, build (tried to switch o weave but switched back)
 9(-1) Seth & Olive, weave

Roue info: "Travel by taxi to Darajani market. Once there search for your clue near the front entrance".

Shamir & Sara's taxi wants $300 when they arrive at the market. This seems way too expensive and a lot of money considering they got $320 at the start of the leg.

Teams reach the clue box by the market in the following order:
 1(+1) Tara & Joey
 2(-1) Liz & Michael 
 3(+1) Vanck & Ashton
 4(+1) Becca & Floyd
 5(+1) London & Logan
 6(-3) Brooke & Scott, shortly after after #4 & #5
 7(+0) Matt & Redmond
 8(+0) Shamir & Sara
 9(+0) Seth & Olive, as Sara is still doing the task

Road block: Who's ready to do some market research?

In this task teams must pick up a shopping list and then buy all the items on it and deliver to the family chef to get their next clue. They must use their own leg money for these purchases. The clue also points out that they need to barter with the merchants. The items they need to buy are:
Quote
6 Fresh eggs
 1 packet Banana Tea
 1 Pomelo
 6 Nyanya Chungu
 2 bunches Mchicha
 1 packet Vanilla Pods/Stick
 1/2 Kilogram container Halvwa
 1 Whole White SNapper Fish
 2 Mkonowatembo
 1 packet whole nutmeg
 1 Live chicken - make it halal
 1 Coconut
 1 Bof of matches
 1 packet Cinamon Sticks
 1 Boga
 1 packet Orange Baobab seeds
 8 Tungule Dogo
 10 Red Bananas

 "{i]I'll do it, it might be food[/i]", Michael

Joey is the first one to emerge from the market with all his ingredients. But he didn't realize he had to have somebody to transform the live chicken into a halal chicken, that is slaughter it in the prescribed way. He has to go back and get this done.

Later on when Floyd, London and Brooke arrive they decide to do the shopping together.

Money is becoming an issue for teams here. Some of the locals are using the situation to really fleece the very stressed racers. A couple of teams are really running low on funds.

Sara runs out of money and has to go back to a vendor she has already visited and beg to get some money back. She manage to get 10.000 back ($4.5).

Olive also has money issues but she pulls out her Brazilian money and uses that. The merchants do not want to accept that and comes after her. Seth knows the rules and points out that they can not check in if they have not settled their bills. After some persuasion the vendor accepts the Brazilian money and they can move on.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+1)Liz & Michael*     (1-1)
2(-1)Tara & Joey*       (1-1)
3(+0)Vanck* & Ashton    (1-1)
4(+3)Matt* & Redmond    (1-1)
5(-1)Becca & Floyd*     (1-1)
6(-1)London* & Logan    (1-1)
7(-1)Brooke* & Scott    (1-1)
8(+0)Shamir & Sara*     (1-1)
9(+0)Seth & Olive*      (1-1)

The next clue directs teams to the next pit stop at the rooftop terrace of the Emerson on Hurumzi hotel in Stone town (400m).

Shamir & Sara manage to convince their taxi driver (the same who drove them to the market) to drive them to the pit stop for free. I wonder if he had a bad conscience for ripping them off earlier.

Seth & Olive run to the pit stop instead.

Teams reach the mat in the following order:
 1(+0) Liz & Michael, win a trip to Amsterdam
 2(+0) Tara & Joey
 3(+0) Vanck & Ashton
 4(+0) Matt & Redmond, as Vanck & Aston are still on the mat
 -     Becca & Floyd, have to go passport hunting
 5(+1) London & Logan
 6(+1) Brooke & Scott
 7(+1) Shamir & Sara
 8(-3) Becca & Floyd, just after #7
 9(+0) Seth & Olive, are eliminated

We do get some tense moments between Vanck & Ashton and Matt & Redmond on the mat. Actually it is mostly between Redmond and Ashton.

After teams check in production always check that they have their passports. This is where Becca & Floyd realize that Floyd has dropped their passports. They have to go back out and try to get them before the last team checks in. They are pretty sure they lost them in the taxi. As they are trying to call the driver (luckily they got his card) he turns up with their passports.
 "It's the first time I have not seen a huge smile on your face", Phil to Becca

 "No regrets, this has been a great experience", Seth

Offline RaceUntilWeDie

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 3 is on page 1
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2017, 09:26:12 AM »
Love seeing the placement changes.  Hate seeing the unknown changes due to messy editing :groan:

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 4
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2017, 08:55:04 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 4, "Another one bites the dust"
Film date: 2016-06-17

This episode also starts with a scene from just after the previous pit stop. Here Vanck & Ashton sit at the hotel when Matt & Redmond appear.
 "The weak teams are chilling over here, the weak teams that came in second and third", Ashton
 "Alright, we were coming here to actually be nice", Redmond

The last pit stop was on the rooftop of Emerson on Hurumzi hotel. The next morning teams depart from the street outside the hotel in the following order:
1.Liz & Michael  08:17
2.Tara & Joey    08:27+0:10
3.Vanck & Ashton 08:59+0:42
4.Matt & Redmond 09:08+0:51
5.London & Logan 09:18+1:01
6.Brooke & Scott 09:19+1:02
7.Shamir & Sara  09:40+1:23
8.Becca & Floyd  09:44+1:27

Route info: "Make your way to the home of Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town where another one bites the dust". Liz gets the title as she reads the clue.

Team eventually learn is that Farrokh Bulsara later changed his name to Freddy Mercury and became rather famous.

Liz & Michael have trouble finding the place. They get bad directions and end up by a heap of rubble which they search.
 "This is all dust here", Michael
Eventually they get good directions and find the house.

Teams arrive at Mercury house in the following order:
 1(+1) Tara & Joey
 2(-1) Liz & Michael
 3(+0) Vanck & Ashton
 4(+0) Matt & Redmond
 5(+0) London & Logan
 6(+0) Brooke & Scott
 7(+1) Becca & Floyd
 8(-1) Shamir & Sara, a minute or two after #7

Detour: Lock or Knock

In Lock teams must go to an Al-Tamini Curio shop on Skomuhogo street in Stone town and search for a key in one of several Zanzibar chests. There are three hard parts about this detour. First that the place is not easy to find, then there are a lots of heavy chests to search. The final bit of trickery is that each Zanzibar chest has a hidden compartment, and that is where the keys are hidden. Teams are not told about this but must figure it out for themselves.

In knock teams must search through Stone town for three royal doors. When they find one they must knock on it to receive a wood carving. When they have found all three doors they can exchange the wood carvings for their next clue. The trick here is to find the doors. This is hard since only some of the locals know about them and the streets of Stone town are small, winding and very confusing.

Both of these detours are frustratingly hard and some teams start to argue quite a lot over which one to do.

Tara & Joey start knocking on any elaborate doors they find, and there are a lot, and by chance they find one of the royal doors.
 "Know on every freaking fancy door there is", Tara
After a fruitless search they run into the lock detour location and decide to switch. They try that for a while before they get frustrated and decode to switch back again. However the knock side keeps being frustratingly difficult and Joey starts to question their decision.
 "Get a new partner man", Tara does not take any crap
 "I don't want a new partner, I want you", Joey does not want to switch partner
They stick with the knocking and eventually find the last door.
 "I'm a hundred percent wrong. You're right.", Joey apologizes

Michael quickly realize the boxes have a secret compartment.
 "I have hard time understanding how people wouldn't find that", Michael found the hidden compartment easily

Vanck & Ashton is one of the teams having an argument. Vanck wants to search for images online of the doors while Ashton wants to leave the hotel where they have been getting help.
 "When we are coming in not first, this is why", Ashton has trouble with Vanck researching more
The argument then gets worse when Vanck wants to switch detours but Ashton does not.
 "If we would have listened to you we would have switched, and we would be stupid", Ashton after they get some seemingly good directions

 "Hi, welcome to hell", Brooke when Becca & Floyd arrive at the lock detour
 "There's not any keys anywhere, we've looked through every single one", Logan has looked in all boxes (but not found the secret compartments)
 "I'm just gonna climb in here and cry", Brooke when she opens a large box with no key inside

Eventually Scott finds a key, but they are unable to make it work in the tricky lock. So they keep looking and soon they find a second key which, after some fiddling, they get to work. As they get the lock open Becca asks if she can have the other key and Scott gives it to her.
 "I gave one to another team", Scott tells Brooke about the key
 "You did not", Brooke can not believe he did that

Becca manage to open the other Scorpion lock with the key she got from Scott.
 "We owe Brook & Scott big time", Becca

Shamir & Sara are also having issues. They start on the knock detour but like most others they run into problems finding the doors. Shamir wants to switch but Sara wants to keep going. And let us just say that they are not communicating well.
 "From the beginning of the day I decoded that I was going to lead and take control because of Brazil", Sara
Shamir does not feel comfortable in the back seat which may add to their frustration.
 "This is horrible, do you want to give that puzzle a try?", Shamir wants to switch
 "No, we have one more", Sara does not
 "We've had one more for an hour and a half", Shamir
Eventually they switch to lock. But when Sara sees the hundreds of boxes they have to search she wants to switch back. Shamir refuses.
 "This is the worst decision that we can make", Sara really wants to switch
Shamir was probably right to refuse for it takes them about 40 minutes to find a key.

London & Logan stick with the lock detour for a long time. When they eventually switch they run into a woman who knows where all the doors are.
 "That was easy", London as they get the first carving

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+1) Liz & Michael, lock
 2(+2) Matt & Redmond, lock
 3(+3) Brooke & Scott, lock
 4(+3) Becca & Floyd, lock
 5(-2) Vanck & Ashton, knock
 6(-5) Tara & Joey, knock, lock, knock
 7(-2) London & Logan, lock, knock
 8(+0) Shamir & Sara, knock, lock

The next clue is a route info telling teams to travel by ferry back to Dar es Salaam.

At the ferry terminal teams find that there is quite a big separation between the ferries. The first teams get there before 10:30 and the next ferry leaves at 12:30. There is an anxious wait for this ferry as more and more team arrive.
 "If one pair doesn't get on this boat and that really takes the pressure off for all of us", Michael
When London & Logan arrive not long before the ferry is about to depart they get a round of applause from the other and you can see that London is very relieved that they made it.
 "And then there was one team missing", Scott

In the end all but one team, Sara & Shamir, make the 12:30 ferry. The next ferry is at 15:30 and all teams know that a three-hour lead is big.

Teams on the first ferry are greatly relieved that one team missed he ferry, but the mood on the second ferry is grimmer.

Once in Dar es Salaam teams must make their way to the office at Dar es Salaam small industries cooperative society. This is about a five minutes taxi ride away. Teams get their next clue from a guy in the office in the following order:
 1. Becca & Floyd
 2. Vanck & Ashton
 ?. Tara & Joey
 ?. Matt & Redmond
 ?. London & Logan
 ?. Liz & Michael
 7. Brooke & Scott
 8. Shamir & Sara

Here teams find a road block where contestants must make a ladle strainer from a sheet of aluminum. This is a manual process and it takes place in a very noisy cooperative workshop. They each get a stall and a local who demonstrates the different steps.

This is a hard task and it is made harder by the fact that the tools they use have seen better days.
 "Not the sharpest things in the world", Joey about the shears
One factor which makes the task a lot easier is that the final judge will tell people what they need to fix to get their ladles approved.

Even though it is a hard task contestants gets it done with a minimum of fuss. That is all but Brooke. She has a negative attitude going into the task.
 "Manufacture a ladle. Oh my god, I don't think I gonna have the strength for this", Brooke reads the clue
And it goes downhill from there.
 "I don't know why this isn't working", Brooke has trouble cutting the metal
Eventually Brooke asks Becca for help, and Becca does help her thus repaying her for getting the key earlier.
 "Good, we're no longer in debt", Becca as she gets back to her stall
Redmond also helps Brooke by giving some tips. He also tells her to calm down, repeatedly, since he knows she doesn't like that.
 "If i needed to have a ladle for dinner, my family would starve", Brooke
Michael also stops by to give her some good advice. Brooke says she owes him and he asks her not to U-turn him. Eventually Brooke get her ladle approved and they get their next clue.

 "The talent there is amazing", Michael is impressed by the locals working in the shop
 "I like this challenge, it's fun", Becca

After approving the ladle the judge tests it by scooping up some pasta from a pot. I wonder if they had the same pasta cooking for the whole time.

It is very hard to say how long after Brooke & Scott left that Shamir & Sara arrive. Given the light it does not seem long. But Shamir takes long enough with the task that Phil comes by and eliminates them on the spot.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+?)Tara & Joey*       (1-2)
2(-1)Becca* & Floyd     (2-1)
3(+?)Liz & Michael*     (1-2)
4(+?)London & Logan*    (1-2)
5(+?)Matt & Redmond*    (1-2)
6(-4)Vanck* & Ashton    (2-1)
7(+0)Brooke* & Scott    (2-1)
DNFShamir* & Sara     (2-1)

The next clue is a route info directing teams to the next pit stop. This pit stop is at Coco beach (8km 20min) and teams check in here in the following order:
 1(+0) Tara & Joey, win $5000 each
 2(+0) Becca & Floyd, just after #1
 3(+0) Liz & Michael
 4(+1) Matt & Redmond, just after #3
 5(-1) London & Logan, as teams #3 & #4 are leaving the mat
 6(+0) Vanck & Ashton
 7(+0) Brooke & Scott

At the mat Phil probes into Vanck & Ashtons strained relationship.
 "I want to enjoy this experience, but it's really hard. There's nothing I can do at this point, we have to run this together. I'm suck with him", Ashton (as she stands next to Vanck)

Shamir & Sara are way behind and Phil has a plane to catch so he makes his way to the road block location and eliminates them on the spot.
 "I'm proud of her and I'm proud of myself", Shamir
 "Even though it definitely wasn't a match made in heaven I certainly haven't forgotten all of the incredible experiences we did have", Sara
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 08:22:57 AM by maf »


Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 5
« Reply #10 on: April 27, 2017, 08:32:12 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 5, "Have faith in me Broski"
Film date: 2016-06-18 - 2016-06-19

We start with a scene where Michael tells how great his partner is. And we can also imagine the drums of foreshadowing in the background.

The last pit stop was late afternoon on Coco beach in Dar es Salaam. And this seems to be where teams are released the next day in the following order:
1.Tara & Joey    15:16
2.Becca & Floyd  15:20+0:04
3.Liz & Michael  16:04+0:48
4.Matt & Redmond 16:09+0:53
5.London & Logan 16:17+1:01
6.Vanck & Ashton 16:56+1:40
7.Brooke & Scott 17:33+2:17

Route info: Fly to Ålesund, Norway.

Once teams land they must drive themselves to Hogsteinen Fyr (Fyr in Norwegian means Lighthouse).

We also learn that this is the last leg where the express pass can be used. And we get to see a lot of the teams speculate in which team have it. Scott has a weird sense of humor and tells Brooke that they do have the express pass.
 "Can you stop that, It's really bugging me", Brooke does not appreciate this kind at humor

Teams buy their tickets at ABC Travel and tours ltd on Samora Avenue. All teams end up on the same flight. Which is:
  KL569  DAR-AMS 23:03 - 07:10+1
  KL1325 AMS-AES 14:18 - 16:16


Once teams land they pick up cars and make their way to the lighthouse. The landscape here is kind of spectacular. Lot of Fjords.

It is quite easy to find your way to the lighthouse (follow the road and turn right at one place) but Michael still doubts their navigation.
 "Have faith in me Broski", Liz gets the title

Teams arrive at the lighthouse (16km 17min) in the following order:
 1. Becca & Floyd
 2. Brooke & Scott
 3. Vanck & Ashton
 4. London & Logan, as team #3 leave
 5. Matt & Redmond
 6. Tara & Joey
 7. Liz & Michael, as the other teams are leaving

Here teams are served some fermented Rock-fish. They will receive their next clue once each team member has finished their plate. The fish get a mixed review from the teams with some enjoying it and some having serious issues getting it down.
 "I thought the fish was delicious", Floyd
 "I can't eat all of his", Brooke still has a negative outlook on life
 "Enjoy the food, that was not tasty", Brooke to the next teams arriving
 "So good, salty, fatty popcorny flavor to it", Michael describes the fish

Team finish their fish and get their next clue in the following order:
 1(+0) Becca & Floyd
 2(+1) Vanck & Ashton
 3(-1) Brooke & Scott
 4(+0) London & Logan
 5(+0) Matt & Redmond
 6(+0) Tara & Joey
 8(+0) Liz & Michael

This clue contains a route info which tells teams to make their way to Slinningen and search for the Slinningsbålet.

The clue also contains a fast forward: "Take a helicopter ride into the great unknown". The helicopter is parked within sight from the lighthouse so Becca & Floyd ecstatically decide to go for it. What they do not know is that the helicopter ride will end with a tandem skydive from 10,000".

Brooke & Scott also try to go for the fast forward and are not happy when the see that Becca & Floyd are already in the helicopter.

This fast forward looks wonderful. It starts with a long helicopter ride along the fjords. Eventually they land and it is here that Becca & Floyd learn what the ending will be because this is where they pick up the tandem skydivers. Becca & Floyd are still enjoying every minute of this task:
 "We're the luckiest people in the world", Floyd as the helicopter takes off

Becca & Floyd are also happy that they will not have to use their express and thereby possibly ruining any trust they have built up (since they have denied having it). When they learn that they will be skydiving they get, even though we didn't think it was possible, even more excited.
 "he fun meter is off the chain today", Becca

The other teams all have to drive to Sliningen.
 "Follow Ashton and Vanck, they have a map", Brooke

Brooke & Scott get into another argument where we can tell that Scott blames Brooke for them not getting to the fast forward and Brooke is angry with Scott because he sticks to the speed limit so they loose Vanck & Ashton.
 "Well maybe you should jump on my back so we can run faster", Scott is not at all happy with Brooke

Slinningsbålet turns out to be easy to find because it is a 13 stories high tower of wooden pallets.

Teams arrive here (24km 31min) in the following order:
 1(+4) Matt & Redmond
 2(+4) Tara & Joey
 3(-1) Vanck & Ashton
 4(-1) Brooke & Scott
 5(-1) London & Logan
 6(+1) Liz & Michael

Road block: Who wants to help break a world record?

The world record in this case is for the tallest hand stacked bonfire. The locals do this every year and this yer they will use about 31,000 wooden pallets. In this road block one person must climb to the top of the tower and place and nail down a pallet. Finally they must climb down again.

The climb looks scary since it is a vertical wall, but it is made of pallets so it is easy to climb. And the racers are secured by a line.

 "Matt is like spiderman right now", Redmond
 "Slow and steady wins the race", Joey is not comfortable with heights

Scott decides that he wants to do this task. He seems to have cured his fear of heights.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Matt* & Redmond    (2-2)
2(+0)Tara & Joey*       (1-3)
3(+0)Vanck & Ashton*    (2-2)
4(+1)London* & Logan    (2-2)
5(-1)Brooke & Scott*    (2-2)
6(+0)Liz* & Michael     (2-2)

We do also get to see some footage from when they lit the finished bonfire one week later.

Detour: Trolls & Troll

In trolls teams must find six fire trolls embedded in the architecture in Ålesund. They will be given a map which shows where the trolls are. Near each troll they will find a closed door and they must stand outside this door and recite a spell:
Elle, melle nikken
   Du er prikken
  Elle, melle ni
    Du er fri
Once they do this a troll will come out and hand them a giant firework. They must bring all six of these to the judge to get their next clue.

In troll teams must go kayaking in Ålesund. A number of people are fishing from the houses and teams must check their lines for marked lures.

As they leave the road block Ashton leaves her fanny pack, but they realize it is missing as they reach the car so they do not loose much time. From Ashtons comments we get the impression that Vanck was tasked with keeping track of it so she blames him.

Teams pick up their kayaks at "kayak more tomorrow" in downtown Ålesund.

Tara and Joey seem to find a marked fishing lure very quickly. They check a couple of more just to be sure and find one more. Tara is still unsure if this really is the right clue so they decide to talk with Matt & Redmond. The latter are convinced that they have found the right clue and Tara & Joey tell them where they found the second one.

Liz & Michael have a hard time at the detour. First they have trouble finding the start of the trolls detour. They pass the kayaking place and Michael wants to switch, but Liz do not.
 "I hate this, this is what I'm worst at", Michael does not want to read a map
Things quickly deteriorates from here. Liz try to do the task and Michael mostly complains.
 "Okay, you just show me because you know this and I'm telling you we shouldn't do this challenge and I'm telling you that paper is not a compass", Michael

Later on they interview:
 "When I'm convinced that I'm right about something it's tough to steer me in the right direction so that could drive somebody a little nuts", Michael
 "I caught the butt end of it", Liz

Once they find the first troll Michael apologizes. So all is calm again, for a while...

The fireworks teams get from the trolls are huge. Taller than a person and they also seem to be quite heavy.
 "This hurts my shoulder, but I cant complain as I'm only carrying one", Brooke

Vanck & Ashton collect their first two fireworks and then decide to take their car to the rest.
 "Vanck & Ashton are very irritating", Brooke

As teams are doing the detour we get to see Becca & Floyd do their parachute jump. They land right next to the lighthouse where they entered the helicopter so they can jump back into their car and drive to the pit stop.

Both detours take place in Ålesund (6km 11min). Teams complete the detour in the following order (the listed placements now count Becca & Floyd as team #1 as they have completed the FF):
 2(+0) Tara & Joey, fishing lures
 3(-2) Matt & Redmond, fishing lures
 4(+0) London & Logan, trolls
 5(+0) Brooke & Scott, trolls
 6(-3) Vanck & Ashton, trolls
 7(-1) Liz & Michael, trolls

The next clue is a parchment or a fishing lure with the text "Aksla".

Teams must now figure out that the pit stop is at the Aksla lookout point. This is on a hill overlooking the town. Teams can get there by foot via 418 steps or drive around the mountain.

 "Oh my god, this is a bitch. I don't know if I can do this", Brooke when she reaches the stairs

Michael is not really keen on walking those steps so he wants to drive. They get into their car but before they can start they have a bit of bad luck when Michael bumps into the van parked in front of them. Fortunately for them the van was already damaged there and the driver doesn't care about the small mark they added, so they can continue racing but lost some time.

They then have to have trouble finding their way and end up in the Aksla parking garage which is a multi-story underground affair, This has an elevator which turns out only to go to he different levels of the parking garage and not to the lookout point.

Teams reach Phil in the following order:
 1(+1) Tara & Joey
 2(+1) Matt & Redmond
 3(-2) Becca & Floyd, are flabbergasted to not be first
 4(+2) Vanck & Ashton
 5(-1) London & Logan
 6(-1) Brooke & Scott
 7(+0) Liz & Michael

As Liz & Michael reach Phil in last we learn from Phil that they are not eliminated since this was a fake pit stop and teams are still racing. Their emotions on this are mixed so we will have to hope they can overcome their arguing and continue this race.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 08:23:48 AM by maf »

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 6
« Reply #11 on: May 03, 2017, 04:11:38 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 6, "Double U-turn ahead"
Film date: 2016-06-19 - 2016-06-21

The last pit stop was in Ålesund, Norway. Instead of receiving some well deserved food and sleep teams instead were told to keep racing. Teams arrived in the following order:
 1. Tara & Joey
 2. Matt & Redmond
 3. Becca & Floyd
 4. Vanck & Ashton
 5. London & Logan
 6. Brooke & Scott
 7. Liz & Michael

Route info: Make your way to Milan, Italy. Once teams land they must travel to Piazza Fontana where they will find their next clue.
 "Caution, double U-turn ahead", Tara gets the title as she reads the clue

Teams can also get a phone which they can use to book their flights to
Milan using the Travelocity app (they have to give it back once done).

 "We're going to Italy", Tara is ecstatic, probably because she has lived in Italy and speaks the language

Liz & Michael had a rough leg in Norway and are trying to resolve their differences.
 "I called you a jackass because you were acting like a jackass", Liz does have a point
Eventually they hug it out and agree to put it behind them.
 "I'm quite frankly embarrassed the way I behaved", Michael interviews
The impressive thing is that these two seem to work well together for the rest of this episode.

In the extra scenes we see that teams spent the night in tents by the water. The next morning they all drive to the Andalsnes train station where they jump on to a train for Oslo. Probably:
  Andalsnes-Lillehammer     07:38 - 10:55
  Lillehammer-Oslo Airport  12:12 - 14:01


There is a lot of talk about the U-turn on the train, and it seems multiple plans are hatched. The one we get to hear about in the telecast is the one targeting Vanck & Ashton.

Once in Oslo the all teams travel on:
  BA767 OSL - LHR  18:03 - 19:22   (scheduled 17:00 - 18:25)
  BA582 LHR - MXP  21:07 - 00:01+1 (scheduled 20:35 - 23:30)


At the airport it looks like production held teams and then released them all at the same time. So we get a mad dash through an empty airport to the taxis. And then there is a taxi race where teams encourage their drivers to pass each other.

Teams arrive at the clue box at Piazza Fontana (52km 45min) in the following order:
 1. Tara & Joey, around 01:23
 2. Liz & Michael
 3. Vanck & Ashton
 4. Matt & Redmond
 5. Brooke & Scott
 6. Becca & Floyd
 7. London & Logan

Road block: Who's hungry for their next clue?

In this road block contestants must board a restaurant tram and spot three marked words (Cernobblo, Concordia, Lago) as the tram travels around the city. And to make it more interesting they have to eat a three-course meal as they go, and they get as much wine as they want.

Each lap probably takes a bit over 30 minutes and teams are only allowed to make one guess before they have to go on another lap. There may also be waiting time as there are only two trams and no more then 4 teams can go on each.

The food looks delicious and nobody has any trouble finishing their plates, even those who have to go twice.

Tram #1 carries: Tara, Michael
Tram #2 carries: Vanck, Redmond, Floyd, Scott
Tram #3 carries: Logan (had to wait for the first one to come back)
Tram #4 carries: Vanck, Redmond, Floyd, Scott
Tram #5 carries: Logan (had to wait for the first one to come back)

Tara and Michael decide to work together and are the only ones who complete the task on the first attempt.

 "I'm hungry, this is the road block for me", Floyd
 "How are we always last?", London is not happy when Logan have to wait
 "We're finally sharing a dinner together, is this our first date?", Scott to Redmond
 "It's hard because red and yellow is a very popular color combination across he world", Floyd
 "That's a deathly shake of the head", Becca about when the judge rejects people

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Tara* & Joey       (2-3)On her 1st attempt
2(+0)Liz & Michael*     (2-3)On his 1st attempt
3(+0)Vanck* & Ashton    (3-2)On his 2nd attempt
4(+2)Becca & Floyd*     (2-2)On his 2nd attempt
5(+0)Brooke & Scott*    (2-3)On his 2nd attempt
6(-2)Matt & Redmond*    (2-3)On his 2nd attempt
7(+0)London & Logan*    (2-3)On his 2nd attempt

Route info: "Take a cruise across lake Como to the village of Varenna" Teams must now make their way to Cernobbio (60km 1h) on lake Como. Here they will find the steamship Concordia which is where they will find their next clue.

There is a footrace between teams #3-#5 to the ship.
 "It's cool, we can catch up", Vanck when they get out of their taxi slightly after the others
 "Okay, maybe not", Vanck again five seconds later

The Concordia turns out to be very beautiful. On the deck teams find a life preserver with departure times hanging from it. They get these times:
 1(+0) Tara & Joey, 07:00
 2(+0) Liz & Michael, 07:05
 3(+1) Becca & Floyd, 07:10
 4(+2) Matt & Redmond, 07:15
 5(-2) Vanck & Ashton, 07:20
 6(-1) Brooke & Scott, 07:25
 7(+0) London & Logan, 07:30

Teams now have a couple of hours to eat, sleep and mingle. There is a beautiful buffet laid out on board. And of course there is wine. During the night the boat sails to Varenna, where teams are released in the morning.

Teams seem to be given their next clue as they are released from the ship. It is a route info telling them where to find their next clue. It also warns that there is a double U-turn directly ahead.

Tara & Joey find a taxi driver who tells them the next address is three minutes away on foot. So all teams have to do is to run along the shore for a couple of minutes. One difficulty is that the clue is actually above a small flight of stairs which goes backwards from the direction the racers are running so they need to be observant to see it.

Michael & Liz run into Joey & Tara and get told where the clue box is. Michael & Liz later tell Becca & Floyd. The later teams can see where the teams in front of them go so they at least get the basic direction.

Teams find the next clue box and the U-turn in he following order:
 1(+0) Tara & Joey
 2(+0) Liz & Michael, U-turns Vanck & Ashton
 3(+0) Becca & Floyd, U-turns Liz & Michael
 4(+0) Matt & Redmond
 5(+1) Brooke & Scott
 6(+1) London & Logan
 7(-2) Vanck & Ashton, missed the clue box and ran to far

Detour: make a mold or grab a hold

In make a mold teams must make their way to a Castello di Vezio (3km 8min) and wrap one member of the team in plaster to create a ghost-like sculpture.

In grab a hold one team member must climb 90 feet up a rock-face to get their next clue. As they do this their team-mate must belay them from below (i.e. be the security guy holding the rope).

To get to the climbing detour teams have to find a dock and board a set of gorgeous old-style racing boats.

 "This is the most beautiful place I could possibly imagine to climb. I am very excited", Becca

Once the boats drop them off teams have to make their way to the cliff by foot. Becca & Floyd get bad directions so they get lost of a couple of minutes. Matt & Redmond get the same bad directions but Matt trusts his gut and they arrive first to the climbing site.

 "I rock climb at home so this will be good", Matt
 "Matt is like spiderman, he's basically running up the mountain, Redmond
 "I love touching rock", Becca is in her element

 "Oh my god, how am I supposed to get up there?", Scott is her usual positive self
 "I'm not scared of heights, I'm scared I can't do it", Scott again
Scott continues to complain the whole time, but she does complete the task.

 "You are a rock star", Michael to Liz when she grabs the clue

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+3) Matt & Redmond, climb
 2(+1) Becca & Floyd, climb, probably lees than a minute after #1
 3(-2) Tara & Joey, mold
 4(-2) Liz & Michael, climb
 5(+0) Brooke & Scott, climb
 -     Vanck & Ashton, climb
 6(+0) London & Logan, mold
 7(+0) Vanck & Ashton, mold

Route info: "Travel by Riva boat to Tremezzo and search for Phil along the shoreline".

Teams must now jump back into their boats and travel along the lake. When they spot Phil they must tell their driver who will dock nearby.

We have an exciting boat race between the first two teams. Matt & Redmond have a slight head start, and they also spot Phil first.
 "We're so close to first right now, it hurts", Becca in the boat a few seconds after the boys
Both boats make for the small jetty. The boys are ahead by 100m or so. But they are unlucky that their driver does not seem to have mastered the beautiful art of approaching a jetty so he has to try again. Meanwhile Becca & Floyd's driver make a better approach and they can jump ashore before of the boys, and then it is over.

Teams reach Phil in the following order:
 1(+1) Becca & Floyd, win a trip to Argentina
 2(-1) Matt & Redmond
 3(+0) Tara & Joey
 4(+0) Liz & Michael
 5(+0) Brooke & Scott
 6(+0) London & Logan
 7(+0) Vanck & Ashton, are eliminated

We can feel a bit sorry for Vanck & Ashton who did not have a chance in this leg. But they did work well together in this episode.
 "The fact that we did as well as we did given how different we were. I'm proud of us being able to work through that", Ashton
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 08:24:36 AM by maf »

Offline Slowhatch

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 6 is on page 1
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2017, 04:39:46 PM »
FWIW teams had $370 for this leg of the race; this is the first good peek we've had at a card all season (view the full-size version here).

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 7
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2017, 02:00:09 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 7, "Have fun and get it done"
Film date: 2016-06-22

At the start we get to see a scene taking place just at the start of leg #6 in Norway. Michael is missing his daughter, a lot.
 "No seeing her, it's killing me", Michael

The last pit stop was on the shore of lake Como in the morning of the 21st. The starting line seems to be the Cernobbio War memorial which is a different place but still by the same lake. They are released the next morning in the following order:
1.Becca & Floyd  03:07
2.Matt & Redmond 03:08+0:01
3.Tara & Joey    03:33+0:26
4.Liz & Michael  03:37+0:30
5.Brooke & Scott 03:38+0:31
6.London & Logan 04:21+1:14

Route info: Travel to Venice, Italy. Teams get $250 for this leg of the race.

Production has chartered two buses which will transport the teams to Venice. Each bus has room for 3 teams.

Bus #1 leaves at 04:15 and carries:
 Becca & Floyd
 Matt & Redmond
 Tara & Joey

Bus #2 leaves at 04:30 and carries:
 Liz & Michael
 Brooke & Scott
 London & Logan

According to Phil the bus drive takes 4 hours. The bus drops teams by the Vaporetto ferry terminal in Venice.

Here teams find a clue box (not shown in the telecast) with a route info which tells them to travel by water taxi to Piazza san Marco. Once there they need to find the Spazzino to get their next clue. They have to figure out that Spazzino means a street sweeper. In this case he is using a broom discretely marked with race colors.

The first three teams turn the water taxi ride into a race as well by egging their drivers to go faster. At least two of them do. Team Fun's driver does not want t join that game.

 "A Spazzino is a street sweeper in a green outfit", Tara flaunts her knowledge of Italian to Joey

Teams get their clue from the street cleaner in the following order:
 1. Tara & Joey
 2. Becca & Floyd
 3. Matt & Redmond
 4. London & Logan
 5. Liz & Michael
 6. Brooke & Scott

London & Logan are the first of the second group to spot the race colored broom. They quickly decide which detour to do and get out of there. As they are leaving Liz & Michael try to get their attention, but London & Logan ignore them.
 "So why did we help them before?", Michael feel betrayed

Detour: Sing it or Bring it

In sing it teams must dress up as gondoliers and learn an Italian song. Then they must ride in a gondola and serenade a couple. They will get their next clue once the mandoline player approves of their singing.

In bring it teams must load 8-9 heavy pieces of luggage on a cart and bring it to a hotel. The catch is that the hotel can only be reached through a set of narrow alleyways. The route also includes passing a number of bridges which all have steps.
 "It was probably easy 30,000lb, maybe 50", Redmond exaggerates slightly
We hope there is nothing fragile in any of the bags because quite a few of them get dropped along the way.

 Oh god, that is really narrow", Tara wonder if their cart will fit (it does, barely)

In sing it teams get a written sheet with the lyric which they can use through the challenge. And if they fail the judge will tell them what they need to improve and let them try again immediately. The most common mistake seems to be to not be together enough. the lyrics are:
Quote
La Biondina in gondoleta
L'altra sera gh'ho menà
Dal piaser la povareta,
La s'ha in bota indormenzà.

La dormiva su sto brazzo,
Mi ogni tanto la svegiava,
Mi ogni tanto la svegiava.

Ma la barca che ninava
La tornava a indormenzar
Ma la barca che ninava
La tomava a indormenzar.

The song goes on for a total of 14 verses but they only need to sing the first three. And that is good because some of the singing leaves a bit to be desired. As we can see in the slightly pained expressions of the couples being serenaded in the gondolas.

The bring it detour starts near Campo San Polo. All bags should be delivered to Hotel Ca'Nigra at Sestiere S.Croce 927 which is about 1km away.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+2) Matt & Redmond, bring
 2(-1) Tara & Joey, bring
 3(-1) Becca & Floyd, sing on their 3rd shown attempt
 4(+0) London & Logan, bring
 5(+1) Brooke & Scott, sing on their 3rd shown attempt
 6(-1) Liz & Michael, sing on their 4th shown attempt

Route info: Make your way by Water Taxi to Ca'Zenonio and search for your next clue.

Teams have various levels of difficulty getting a water taxi. Matt & Redmond just hail one from the canal while Brooke & Scott run around like chickens with their heads cut off looking for one.
 "I'm about to jump into the water. This is stupid", Brooke

London & Logan run into a group of Americans headed for the airport and are allowed tag along in their water taxi. In the extra scenes we learn that the water taxis are ridiculously expensive. 70 euros for a five minute trip.

Teams reach this clue box in the following order:
 1(+0) Matt & Redmond
 2(+0) Tara & Joey
 3(+0) Becca & Floyd
 4(+2) Liz & Michael
 5(-1) London & Logan
 6(-2) Brooke & Scott

Road block: Who has masked intentions?

In this road block teams must choose and actor from a Comedia del'Arte performance and then create a copy of their intricate mask. They are given white masks to start with so all they need to do is paint them. Thee masks are painted using a special technique where they first paint the entire mask in a base color. Then, after it has dried, they paint it over with black and before this layer has dried they rub parts of it away creating a special blended effect. Finally they have to add some gold details and gloss.

The judging of this task seems to be very relaxed. contestants are told what made their mask get rejected. And some of the approved masks look much worse than the ones they are supposed to copy. The best looking completed mask comes, unsurprisingly, from London.

It looks like Redmond get his mask approved just after Tara arrives, so he seem to have a pretty good lead.

 "I'm not a good painter so I should be careful about what I choose", Floyd when selecting his actor
 "If only I had time to take a painting class. Instead I'm busy changing diapers...", Tara about her life
 "Slow and steady wins the Amazing Race", Floyd while he is drying his paint

 "I love to paint", Liz wants to do this road block
 "The mask I choose was the exact same style of a cow-skull that I painted before I left", Liz feel she know what she is doing
Unfortunately for Liz she only thinks she knows what she is doing so she does not look at the demonstration and she uses the wrong technique to shade it.
 "Does that look right?", Liz holds up her mask to London
 "Yeah", London is not entirely truthful here

 "I don't feel good about any of this but I guess I'll do it", Scott is her usual negative self
 "Is that good?", Floyd when the judge says Bellissima (beautiful)

The non-participating contestants have to wait in the courtyard.
 "I just hope Brooke stays patient because if she freaks out in there...", Scott
 "Well, nice knowing you", Joey to Scott

Brook is indeed freaking out in there are runs around asking everybody for help.
 "Sometimes you just have to put your big girl panties on and do it yourself instead of relying on everybody", Liz about Brooke
 "I don't know, I'm just winging it", Liz to Brooke when the latter asks if she is doing it right

Poor Liz is getting more and more stressed as other teams are approved.
 "I really just want to cry", Liz after she had to start over with a new mask
 "I'm really scared that I'm letting my partner down, we don't want to go home just yet", Liz

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Matt & Redmond*    (2-4)
2(+1)Becca & Floyd*     (2-3)He's the only one who got it on hist first attempt
3(-1)Tara* & Joey       (3-3)
4(+2)Brooke* & Scott    (3-3)
5(+0)London* & Logan    (3-3)
6(-2)Liz* & Michael     (3-3)

Route info: Race to Campo San Vio and search for Phil and your next Pit Stop.

The episode is cut to make it look like a tight race between the last three teams. Brooke & Scott run together with London & Logan and hope they will reach the pit stop before Liz & Michael. It looks like Liz & Michael arrive just after the other two teams. But according to reports that is just the magic of editing. In reality they were close to 20 minutes behind.

Teams reach the Pit Stop (1.1km) in the following order:
 1(+0) Matt & Redmond, win a trip to Grenada
 2(+0) Becca & Floyd
 3(+0) Tara & Joey
 4(+0) Brooke & Scott
 5(+0) London & Logan
 6(+0) Liz & Michael, are saved by a non-elimination

Brooke & Scott and London & Logan jumped on the mat together. This was a risky move for London & Logan because the rule is that if teams jump together then their relative placement in the previous leg determines the order. Rumor say that Scott knew this and knew that he and Scott would be safe even if Liz & Michael somehow had slipped past them.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2017, 03:56:44 PM by maf »

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 8
« Reply #14 on: May 17, 2017, 11:40:16 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 8, "Good Job Donkey"
Film date: 2016-06-23 - 2016-06-24

The last pit stop was at Campo San Vio, Venice, on the 22nd. Teams are released from a different place in Venice the following day in the following order:
1.Matt & Redmond 11:15
2.Becca & Floyd  12:08+0:53
3.Tara & Joey    12:28+1:13
4.Brooke & Scott 13:01+1:46
5.London & Logan 13:02+1:47
6.Liz & Michael  13:11+1:56

The first clue is a route info which instructs teams to travel to Patras, Greece. Once here they will find their next clue waiting on the marked cars.

Production has chartered a plane which takes the races to Bari, Italy. From here they take the Superfast ferry which departs at 19:30 and arrives in Patras the next day at 13:00.

According to teams the flight was heaven with champagne and sweets. This was perhaps meant to compensate for the ferry ride which was closer to hell with no beds and loads of people trying to sleep everywhere in the cramped quarters.

In Patras teams pick up their cars )manual transmission= and learn that they have to drive themselves to Arahova (136km 2h14min). They also learn that there is another double U-turn directly ahead.

 "The clue said there is a double U-turn directly ahead which is pretty scary", Redmond fears that they will be U-turned

The drive to Arahova is long and beautiful. Along the way they have to cross the impressive Rion-Arion bridge which takes them to the mainland.

 "Thank you very much for being such a wonderful navigator", Becca to Floyd, and we can hear the drums of doom in the background
Becca & Floyd, aka Team Fun, misread their directions and end up on smaller roads before they have even crossed the bridge. Then they miss the exit to the bridge an have to travel an extra 40km to be able to finally get up on the bridge.

Liz & Michael pulls an interesting move and passes three other teams on the road. Unfortunately for them they then make a false turn. Liz & Michael see that they lost the three teams where were behind them. Liz wants to turn around but Michael wants to find another road going in the right direction. Unfortunately for him there is no such road on he map. He still refuses to turn around. Eventually they end up on a small dirt road up in he mountains. Finally Michael relents and they turn back, but they have lost a lot of time.
 "I don't want to turn around, I don't wanna backtrack. Can we make a right up here somewhere?", Michael

London & Logan are also having trouble, but nowhere near as severe as Liz & Michael. But when they want to turn around Logan can not get the car into reverse. So London jump out and push.

Tara & Joey are the first to arrive in Arahova and they find the marked parking and a Greek wedding. They do not see the clue box but instead join the revelers in dancing and asks for the next clue. The clue here is not in a normal clue box but rather a big wooden box marked with a race-colored ribbon.

Teams arrive at the U-turn board in Arahova in the following order:
 1. Brooke & Scott, U-turns Liz & Michael
 2. Tara & Joey. U-turns Becca & Floyd
 3. Matt & Redmond, seconds after #1
 4. London & Logan
 5. Liz & Michael, long after the other teams
 6. Becca & Floyd, a few minutes after #5

Detour: For the bride or for the groom

In for the bride teams must saddle a donkey and load two tins of sheep milk. They must then lead their donkey along a marked path and deliver the milk to two cheese-making ladies who each will give them a piece of cheese in return. They must then give both pieces of cheese to the bride.

In for the groom teams take part in a local sporting custom. They must race up a steep 252 steps long staircase to the local church. Behind the church they will find a shepherd which will give them each a gift for the groom. This gift turns out to be a live goat or lamb.

In contrast to some donkeys from earlier seasons these seem fairly docile and actually do follow teams. Maybe not as fast as the teams would have liked, but they are moving.
 "I stepped in poop, that's probably good luck", Brooke
 "Good job donkey", Tara gets the title

Matt & Redmond seems to have named their donkey Seabisquit.

Liz & Michael are shocked to see that Brooke & Scott U-turned them.
 "Wow, thanks Brooke & Scott", Liz (with a hint, no make that a heavy dose, of sarcasm in her voice)
 "I'm so glad Brooke that I helped you in Dar es Salaam when you couldn't finish your damn ladle", Michel talks to the camera

Becca & Floyd are also very surprised that they have been U-turned.
 "We're team fun. No one wants to U-turn team fun!", Becca

We also learn that the first cheese lady is not located right on the marked path but rather down a side street, well visible from the path though. Becca & Floyd miss her on their first trip with the donkey. As they are looking for her they run into Liz & Michael who are on their way to the other detour. Now both teams know they are close.
 "There you are sneaky cheese lady", Becca when they finally find the second lady

Becca & Floyd name their donkey Speedy McSpeederson. He even gets a name plate in the telecast with the title "Professional Donkey".
 "If there is any time to be fun and positive it is right now", Floyd

The U-turned teams are the only ones doing the groom side of the detour. Later we learn that race up the stairs starts once every 5 minutes.
 "Oh my god", Michael sees the stairs they have to run up
 "Bastard stairs", Michael is not built for running up stairs
 "Channel team fun, channel positivity", Floyd to Becca at the starting line

Liz & Michael make a mistake at the top and only pick up one goat. They learn this when they get back to the wedding and have to go back up to get another animal.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+1) Tara & Joey, bride
 2(+1) Matt & Redmond, bride
 3(-2) Brooke & Scott, bride
 4(+0) London & Logan, bride
 - Liz & Michael, bride
 - Becca & Floyd, bride
 5(+0) Liz & Michael, groom
 6(+0) Becca & Floyd, groom, a minute or so after #5

Once teams have completed the detour they are given a plate. When they smash this they find a small laminated card, marked with race colors, inside. This reads
Quote
PANATHENAIC STADIUM
KALLIMAOMARO IN ATHENS

Teams must now drive themselves to this stadium (183km 2h23min).

In the extra scenes we see London & Logan finding another stadium. They soon realize that this is not the stadium they are looking for.

Teams arrive at the correct stadium in the following order:
 1(+0) Tara & Joey
 2(+0) Matt & Redmond
 3(+0) Brooke & Scott, seconds after #2
 4(+0) London & Logan
 5(+1) Becca & Floyd
 6(+1) Liz & Michael, a minute or so after #5

Here teams find a speed bump and a clue box.

The speed bump is for Liz & Michael and instructs them to go to a nearby food cart and help prepare Kokoretsi. That is they have to use intestines to wrap a couple of skewers. Liz seems grossed out by the task, but it is right up Micheal's alley so they completed it fairly quickly.

The clue tells teams they must complete one lap around the stadium in order to get their next clue. This is the stadium where the first modern Olympics were held so it has some historic significance.

 "I definitely had the chills running around there", Tara
 "I'm not a runner", Brooke keeps the negativity flowing

Tara & Joey also encounter Phil here. He does one of his live narration things as they arrive and run their lap.

Becca & Floyd are very happy when they arrive and see that the speed bump has not yet been touched. But as they return from completing their lap they notice that the clue has now been taken so they realize Liz & Michael is right behind them.

Teams complete their lap around the stadium in the following order:
 1(+0) Tara & Joey
 2(+0) Matt & Redmond
 3(+0) Brooke & Scott, a few more seconds after #2
 4(+0) London & Logan
 5(=0) Becca & Floyd
 6(+0) Liz & Michael

Route info: "Make your way on foot to the Zappeion and search for your next clue".
The Zappeion is the big impressive building in a parkright across the street so it is hard to miss. Nobody gets lost along the way and once at the Zappeion teams find their next clue in a jar on the steps.

Road block: Who thinks they can step in time?

In this road block contestants must learn part of a complicated choreography performed by he guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Tara feel confident performing this since she has been in the army for 20 years so she should know drill and ceremony,

The rule this season is that nobody may do more than 4 road blocks before the end of the 9th leg. Some team are running up against this limit here and are therefore directed who must do this task.

 "He's just gonna look so adorable in his outfit", Redmond about Matt
 "It could be a race fir first, It's a footrace through. Second is find", Scott when Brooke gets approved soon after Tara

 "This is like marching band all over again", Liz betrays her past

Liz & Michael arrive at the road block as Becca is doing her first attempt.

Floyd and Mike hug each other when Becca get approved. hey both know that it will take a miracle for Liz & Michael to catch up at that point.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Tara* & Joey       (4-3)On her 2nd shown attempt
2(+1)Brooke* & Scott    (4-3)On her 2nd shown attempt
3(-1)Matt* & Redmond    (3-4)On his 1st shown attempt
4(+0)London* & Logan    (4-3)On her 2nd shown attempt
5(+0)Becca* & Floyd     (3-3)On her 2nd shown attempt
6(+0)Liz* & Michael     ($-3)On her 1st shown attempt

In her episode recap London say that she got approved on her third attempt. The first time she got docked for smiling too much and on the second here uniform wan not neat enough.

The next route info tells teams to find the next pit stop on the ground surrounding to the Acropolis.

 "Where is the Acropolis? I'm dying, and I still haven't peed", Brooke when she exits the road block

Teams reach Phil at the pit stop in the following order:
 1(+0) Tara & Joey, win %7500 each
 2(+1) Matt & Redmond
 3(-1) Brooke & Scott
 4(+0) London & Logan
 5(+0) Becca & Floyd
 6(+0) Liz & Michael, are eliminated

Liz & Michael probably arrived at the pit stop about 20-25 minutes after Becca & Floyd. They accept defeat gracefully and leave the race with their heads held up high.

 "She's my little sister from here on out. I'll be checking in with her", Michael has formed a bod with Liz

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 8 is on page 1
« Reply #15 on: May 21, 2017, 01:44:58 AM »
I am about to leave on a 1 week trip with no access to my computer so the reports for leg 9 & 10 will be about a week late. But I hope I will be able to visit at least one race location on my trip.

Offline naejae91

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 8 is on page 1
« Reply #16 on: May 21, 2017, 06:01:39 AM »
I am about to leave on a 1 week trip with no access to my computer so the reports for leg 9 & 10 will be about a week late. But I hope I will be able to visit at least one race location on my trip.


I know this might sound inconsiderate to ask this, but I kinda hope the race reports for leg 9 & 10 was available before leaving for your trip. But nonetheless good luck for your trip.  :hoot:
TAR25/TAR29: Modern classic season.

Offline Marionete

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 8 is on page 1
« Reply #17 on: May 21, 2017, 03:27:43 PM »
We'll wait. :P
This is an amazing thread you've been doing, maf!

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 8 is on page 1
« Reply #18 on: May 21, 2017, 06:31:54 PM »
I am about to leave on a 1 week trip with no access to my computer so the reports for leg 9 & 10 will be about a week late. But I hope I will be able to visit at least one race location on my trip.

Take your time maf, there's no hurry. We really do appreciate these summaries you do for us!  :luvya: :hearts: :hrt: :hearts:

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 8 is on page 1
« Reply #19 on: May 31, 2017, 01:58:19 AM »
I'm back home again and are now working on the last episodes. I had a marvelous time away and I did have time to check out a race location. There was no lady with an abacus there this day.


Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 9
« Reply #20 on: June 01, 2017, 09:27:24 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 9, "I though we were playing it nice"
Film date: 2016-06-25 - 2016-06-27

The last pit stop was on the grounds of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Teams seem to be released from somewhere else in Athens in the following order:
1.Tara & Joey    14:40
2.Matt & Redmond 15:01+0:21
3.Brooke & Scott 15:39+0:59
4.London & Logan 16:00+1:20
5.Becca & Floyd  17:23+2:43

The first route info tells them to make heir way by taxi to an old bridge over the Corinth canal (78km 1h7min).

 "Because we have survived an U-turn we are now team Funstoppable", Floyd

Teams arrive at the old bridge over the Corinth Canal in the same order they started. Here they find a road block: "Who's ready for the long stretch"

The full task description reads: "Bungee-jump 240 feet from the bridge into the Corinth canal"

This is a repeat of a task from season 9. The participating contestants will have to bungee jump over the Corinth canal. Most teams seem to either remember season 9 or are told by their driver about the bungee jumping because they all seem to know what is waiting. The rules state that everybody must have done the same number of road blocks after leg 9 so in most cases it is already determined who has do to this task.

 "I hate my life", Joey is not looking forward to this.
 "Please don't be bungee-jumping. That's the only thing I don't want to do.", Scott in the taxi en-route to the Corinth canal
 "I wanna be here when Scott does this", Meanwhile Matt is on his way to the jump

Scott does not like this task and complains a lot. But in the end he takes the plunge and gets it done.
 "This is my number 1 fear", Scott
 "That was horrible. I will never do that again in my life.", Scott after his jump

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Tara & Joey*       (4-4)
2(+0)Matt* & Redmond    (4-4)
3(+0)Brooke & Scott*    (4-4)
4(+0)London & Logan*    (4-4)
5(+0)Becca* & Floyd     (4-3)

Route info: "Now it is time to fly to Hanoi, Vietnam. Once there make your way to Lý Thái Tô and search for your next clue."

Through extra videos we learn that Broke & Scott find a faster flight but ultimately decide to play it safe and go with the crowd. So everybody ends up on the same flight, probably:
  LH1285  ATH-FRA  06:25-08:25
  VN0036  FRA-HAN  13:55-05:50+1


Once in Hanoi teams jump into taxis and make their way to Lý Thái Tô (a statue).

There is no clue box here but a bunch of people doing their morning exercises. They all have red fans. Teams must realize that some of them have a small yellow stick in their fan and ask one of those for their next clue.

Teams get the clue here in the following order:
 1. Becca & Floyd (see Phil who is narrating their progress)
 2. Brooke & Scott
 3. London & Logan
 4. Matt & Redmond
 5. Tara & Joey

Route info: Make your way to the Quan Su Buddhist temple

Teams find the clue box by the temple in the following order:
 1(+0) Becca & Floyd
 2(+0) Brooke & Scott
 3(+1) Matt & Redmond
 4(-1) London & Logan
 5(+0) Tara & Joey

Detour: Bamboo climb or window design

In bamboo climb teams must pick up one of three marked ladders. Then they must carry this long ladder through the crazy streets of Hanoi old town to a nearby apartment at 56 Cau Go street. there they must transport the ladder up a narrow staircase and use it to retrieve a birdcage from the roof. Finally they must bring everything back to get their next clue.

In window design teams must pick up three mannequins from a store and carry them to Chãn Cãm street and use them and a photo to dress an empty store window to match.

The difficulty with the ladder detour is that the rather long ladder is unwieldy to get through the busy streets. Then teams learn that it is tricky to figure out how to get it up the narrow staircase.

All teams want to do the ladder task. They first make their way to 42 Hàng Vải on foot. There are only three ladders available and Becca & Floyd get the first one. On the there way Matt & Redmond pass Brooke & Scott and grab the second ladder. Brooke & Scott are then looking for a marked ladder as London & Logan arrive. London spot it first, it is hanging on the wall, and manages to grab it before Brooke.

Brooke & Scott are now both upset with each other that they didn't get a ladder and they keep arguing all the way to and during the other detour. As they are on their way Tara & Joey run past on their way to the ladders. Brooke & Scott do not give any hints about the ladders being all taken. Tara & Joey are not happy when they realize this.
 "Yeah, they're such good friends. They knew exactly where we were going and they didn't stop us", Joey is upset with Scott & Brooke

Personally I think Brooke & Scott did the right thing here. We are down to five teams and one of them must be last so you can't help the others anymore. Specially when you know you are in the back.

When Tara & Joey come to the mannequin shop they misread their clue and pick up two mannequins instead of three.

At the staircase Becca & Floyd are on their way down when they meet Matt & Redmond going up and later when Matt & Redmond are exiting the building they meet London & Logan. The latter are also the only ones having a hard time figuring out how to get their ladder up the stairwell.

Tara & Joey reach their store window first and start dressing and arranging their mannequins. It is only when the judge is not satisfied they reread their clue and realize they are missing a mannequin. So they have to run back and fetch one more.
 "That's my fault I didn't read it right", Tara take the blame

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+0) Becca & Floyd
 2(+1) Matt & Redmond, just behind team #1
 3(+1) London & Logan
 4(-2) Brooke & Scott
 5(+0) Tara & Joey

The next clue tells teams to go and find the pit stop in Thong Nhat Park.

The editing here highlights all the doubts and obstacles the second to last team encounters while the last team seem to have smooth sailing. But to nobody's surprise the positions do not change

Teams reach Phil in the following order:
 1(+0) Becca & Floyd, win a trip to to Galapagos
 2(+0) Matt & Redmond
 3(+0) London & Logan
 4(+0) Brooke & Scott
 5(+0) Tara & Joey, are saved by a non-elimination

Joey seem to be close to collapsing at the Pit Stop. At the start of the leg we heard him complain about not feeling well and running around in the heat was probably not good for him. We also get to see Tara being upset about Brooke & Scott not telling them about the ladders.

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 10
« Reply #21 on: June 11, 2017, 03:03:43 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 10, "Riding a bike is like riding a bike"
Film date: Probably 2016-06-28

The last pit stop was in Thong Nhat Park Hanoi, Vietnam. Teams are released from the same park in the following order:

1.Becca & Floyd  07:59
2.Matt & Redmond 08:03+0:04
3.London & Logan 08:18+0:19
4.Brooke & Scott 08:36+0:37
5.Tara & Joey    08:47+0:48

Route info: "Race to the spectacular limestone mountains of Ninh Binh, Vietnam". Teams receive $30 for this leg.

Teams must now travel by bus to Ninh Binh. It seems to take about 40 minutes to get to the bus terminal from the start.

Teams get split onto two different buses. Brooke tries to pay the driver of the second bus to leave early so Tara & Joey should not make it but did not succeed.

Bus #1 departs at 09:00 and carries:
 Becca & Floyd
 Matt & Redmond

Bus #2 departs at 09:30 and carries:
 Brooke & Scott
 London & Logan
 Tara & Joey

Teams find their next clue at Tam Coc Wharf in the following order:
 1(+0) Becca & Floyd
 2(+0) Matt & Redmond
 3(+2) Tara & Joey
 4(-1) London & Logan
 5(-1) Brooke & Scott

This clue tells them to travel by bicycle to Bich Dong Temple. At the temple team will pick up a travel companion (a Travelocity roaming gnome) and their next clue.

 "Good thing that riding a bike is like riding a bike", London gets the title

The last three teams ride as fast as they can towards this temple since they all know that they are racing to avoid elimination. Brooke seems to be the weakest and starts to making pained noises.
 "Oh my god, you're not giving birth", Scott talks to himself as Brooke moans

Teams reach the clue box in the temple in the following order:
 1(+0) Becca & Floyd
 2(+0) Matt & Redmond
 Tara & Joey - find their speed bump
 3(+1) London & Logan
 4(+1) Brooke & Scott
 5(-2) Tara & Joey

Tara & Joey encounter their speed bump at this temple: "Collect six dozen duck eggs for a local farmer before continuing on the Race". This turns out to be a relatively hard speed bump which, according to interviews, take 30-40 minutes to complete.

Route info: Take a ride to Thon Hai Nham. Once there search for your next clue.

Teams must now ride their bikes to Thon Hai Nham. Here they find the clue box in the following order:
 1(+1) Matt & Redmond
 2(-1) Becca & Floyd
 3(+0) London & Logan
 4(+0) Brooke & Scott
 5(+0) Tara & Joey, went 2km to far on their bikes

Road block: Who's feeling trapped?

In this road block contestants must load a bicycle with shrimp traps and then deliver them to a local fisherman. There are a lot of shrimp traps which must be delivered (15 large bundles and 17 small bundles) so the bikes look severely overloaded.

This task is partly a switchback from season 3 where teams had to ride similarly loaded bikes as one side of a detour.

Matt & Floyd work together to load the bikes. They feel they are ahead of the other teams and it is in their mutual interested to stay that way.
 "It's hot out here in 'nam", Matt comments on the unrelenting sun

Floyd is having a hard time with this road block. He makes quick work of loading the bike. But as soon as he starts moving traps starts falling off, unfortunately for him he does not see that.
 "Dammit, he dropped two things", Becca see what is happening but may not help him
 "Oh man, I might have been better at this", Becca is more used to riding a bike

Riding the heavily loaded bikes is quite difficult and requires a lot of balancing.
 "If you keep your speed up then it's easier", Matt has found the trick
 "This is way heavier than it looks", Scott

As Matt is on his way back from his delivery he encounters Floyd having problems raising his bike which has fallen. Matt is kind and stops to help.

When teams reach the fisherman he counts the number of traps and if approved teams get their next clue and may unload the bike before riding back. Floyd is devastated to learn that the fisherman does not accept partial deliveries, instead he must go back with his loaded bike and add the missing traps.
 "I made a critical error in judgment because I thought I could just drop off what I had", Floyd

When Floyd does his second run he is right behind London. And when she falls he stops and tries to help her back up. Eventually he enlists some locals to help get them underway again.
 "Slow and steady wins the Amazing Race", Floyd
Eventually we see Floyd and London walking with their bikes. This is quite slow, and to make matters worse we are shown that Floyd has dropped a bunch of traps again.

When they arrive London gets approved while Floyd is not. Floyd sit down to rest a bit and as he is sitting there Joey arrive, and is approved. So Floyd now know that he is last. But he does not give up, even though he is exhausted and a bit light headed.

On her way back London's bike breaks. It may just been the chain which has jumped but we can not tell from the telecast. In any way she have to walk her bike back, which allows Joey to pass her.
 "This sucks", London tells what she feels

Floyd find a dropped trap a little way down the road which he hopes is all he is missing. He picks it up and goes back for a third time.
 "his is definitely one of the worst times in my life", Floyd is not happy
This time he has the correct number of traps so he can unload and go back to Becca.
 "Good job Floyd", Becca greets him with a positive attitude

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Matt* & Redmond    (5-4)
2(+2)Brooke & Scott*    (4-5)
3(+2)Tara & Joey*       (4-5)
4(-1)London* & Logan    (5-4)
5(-3)Becca & Floyd*     (4-4)

Route info: Ride to Den Thai Vi - Ben Thanh and search for your next clue.

As Becca & Floyd are on their way here Floyd loses control of his bike. Becca takes his backpack and they continue on. When he falls again the race medics step in.
 "You're getting really dizzy?", Medic to Floyd

It soon becomes evident that Floyd's condition is serious and the medics do their best to cool him down with water.
 "I have never seen anybody in this state before and it's definitely scary", Becca is upset
 "It's not they way any of us wanted to go out", Becca is hearth broken

At Den Thai Vi - Ben Thanh teams find an active route marker: "Row a boat the way the locals do, with you feet instead of your hands".

Teams must now collect some offerings and then row a boat, with their feet, to a ceremonial dragon boat and deliver their offerings. Only one team member can row their boat at any time but they are free to choose which.

Teams quickly discover that rowing a boat with your feet is hard. But all remaining teams eventually complete the task.
 "This is not easy", Matt

Scott does the rowing for his team, and when he gets frustrated Brooke
starts yelling at him.
 "You're turning into me, apparently", Scott to Brooke

 "My big feet may be coming handy", Tara tries to row
 "Can you keep your mouth shut, Boston, just for a few seconds", Tara gets tired of all the advice coming from her partner

 "I am too big for this?", Logan
 "I came unglued pretty quickly", Logan interviews afterwards

Teams complete this task in the following order:
 1(+0) Matt & Redmond
 2(+0) Brooke & Scott
 3(+0) Tara & Joey
 4(+0) London & Logan

The next clue tells teams to make their way to Hang Mua Peak (aka Nui Ngoa Long). This is the top of one of the limestone hills in the area and it is reached by a set of stairs consisting almost 500 steps. This mountain top has a big dragon statue which looks very impressive from the river below.

To get there teams must ride their bikes back to Tam Coc Wharf and return them. Then they can travel by taxi to the foot of the stairs.
 "I'm not gonna jinx it, but we're ahead", Redmond in he taxi

As they ride their bikes Brooke starts to make pained noises again.
 "Giving birth again. Hold on, it's twins this time", Scott to the camera

Climbing he stairs seems to be so tough that the cameramen do not need to do it. But Phil and his team have climbed. Phil also tries to motivate Matt & Redmond by yelling to them that they are team #1 when they still have 20 meters or so left to climb.

 "That can't be right", Brooke's reaction when she see the stairs

Teams reach Phil in the following order:
 1(+0) Matt & Redmond, win a trip to Costa Rica
 2(+0) Brooke & Scott
 3(+0) Tara & Joey
 4(+0) London & Logan

 "Tell us about this leg", Phil interviews Matt & Redmond
 "It's made of carbon fibers...", Redmond takes the question literally

After the first four teams have checked in Phil gets down from the mountain and go to Becca & Floyd and eliminates them on the spot.
 "We had the best time together", Becca

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 11
« Reply #22 on: June 15, 2017, 01:56:00 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 29, Episode 11, "As easy as stacking cups"
Film date: Probably 2016-06-29 - 2016-06-30

The last pit stop was at the top of a mountain in Ninh Binh, Vietnam. Teams are released from a nearby hotel (at ground level) in the following order:

1.Matt & Redmond 23:57
2.Brooke & Scott 01:48+1:51
3.Tara & Joey    02:16+2:19
4.London & Logan 02:26+2:29

Route info: Fly to Seoul, Korea. Once they land teams must make their way to the Gangnam district to find their next clue.

It seems teams take a taxi to the Hanoi airport. Then all teams are on
the same flight from Hanoi to Seoul. Probably:
  VN414  HAN-ICN 10:25 - 16:35


Once in Seoul teams must make their way to the Gangnam district. Matt & Redmond take the metro while the others jump into taxis.

At the indicated intersection teams find a small stage and four girls singing K-pop. Each of them have a clue and the racers must stay a listen for a short while before they ask for one.

Teams get the clue here in the following order:
 1. Tara & Joey
 2. Brooke & Scott
 3. London & Logan, as #2 read their clue
 4. Matt & Redmond, about 20 minutes behind the others

Route info: "Make your way by taxi to Hanyang University Olympic Gym"

And this is where Matt & Redmond fall behind for real. Their taxi starts driving towards another Olympic gym. The episode seems to suggest that they were unclear with their directions, but it might as well have been a driver error. In any case the end result is that they loose more than an hour.
 "It's only four teams. Not a lot of room for mistakes", Matt

Teams arrive at the Olympic gym in the following order:
 1(+0) Tara & Joey
 2(+0) Brooke & Scott
 3(+0) London & Logan
 4(+0) Matt & Redmond, long after the others

Road block: Who stacks up?

Here teams get to try their hand at speed stacking. They get three stacks of cups containing 3. 6 and 3 cups each and must stack each of them into a pyramid and unstack them all again in under 7 seconds (the world record is less than 2). To make things more interesting the hall is filled with small kids practicing their, already considerable, skills at this sport.

 "Oh, I can do this", Brooke exclaims when she see the cup stacking
 "This was pretty difficult", Joey interview later
 "Scott, I can do this", Brooke is positive (we did not see any flying pigs though)

7 seconds may seem short but it seems teams managed to complete this task in 5-10 minutes.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+1)Brooke* & Scott    (5-5)
2(-1)Tara & Joey*       (4-6)
3(+0)London & Logan*    (5-5)
4(+0)Matt & Redmond*    (5-5)

Route info: "Make your way by taxi to the whatever arts & culture center and search for your next clue" (read by Brooke). Teams must now jump into pre-arranged taxis and go to the Mugyewon arts & cultural center.

Teams arrive at the cultural center in the same order they left the cup stacking. Here teams find a route info: "Make Kimchi, the natural food of Korea".

Teams must make six servings of Kimchi and pack them into a ceramic jar. To make Kimchi they must first mix a bunch of ingredients to make a kind of pate and then coat each leave in a head of cabbage with this paste. They need to make six approved heads of cabbage.

 "Don't say what we're doing out aloud. They don't follow directions", Brooke to Scott about Joey & Tara
 "They are laughing at you so you did it wrong", Brooke to Scott (about the locals)

When teams are done they have to eat some pre-prepared Kimchi.
 "She almost freaked out when she bit into it", Logan about London

Teams complete this task in the following order:
 1(+1) Tara & Joey
 2(=1) London & Logan
 3(-2) Brooke & Scott
 4(+0) Matt & Redmond

Route info: "Make your way by taxi to Seoul OGN E-Stadium"

The first three teams are close enough to have a taxi-race on the way to the E-Stadium. Teams find the clue-box there in the following order:
 1(+2) Brooke & Scott
 2(+0) London & Logan
 3(-2) Tara & Joey. seconds after #1
 4(+0) Matt & Redmond, after 2 teams have left

Road block: Who's ready to take control?

This is the second road block of this leg and as is customary the person which did not do the previous one must do this.

In this road block contestants must win a round of Street Fighter 5 against a professional gamer. Every ten rounds the racer get an additional advantage. The advantages we get to see are:
 after 10 rounds, professional plays with one hand
 after 20 rounds, professional plays blindfolded
 after 30 rounds, professional plays blindfolded with one hand
Teams also get a quick introduction to the game.

 "I have never played video games i my life", London
 "I'm not a gamer at all, but this should be fun", Tara
 "This could take a while", Brooke after Scott got creamed in round 1
 "I'm sorry", The gamer beating Tara apologizes (and then continues to beat her)

London's tactics seems to to hit random buttons as fast as possible. And it seems to work because she is the first one out of there.

Matt & Redmond are very happy when they see Tara & Joey still here. t is the first time since the airport they have seen another team.
 "It's going to come down to a freaking video game?", Tara when Matt & Redmond arrive
 "He's good. No tip[/]", Matt's opponent does not want the guide to give Matt any tips

Teams complete this road block in the following order:
1(+1)London* & Logan    (6-5)After 20+ rounds
2(-1)Brooke & Scott*    (5-6)After almost 20 rounds (just after #1)
3(+0)Tara* & Joey       (5-6)After 30+ rounds
4(+0)Matt* & Redmond    (6-5)After 10+ rounds

Route info:' Make your way to the roof of Gavit Some and search for the mat. Warning, the last team to check in will be eliminated."

Teams jump into taxis and make their way to Gavit Some. The editing strongly suggests the first two teams arrive at the same time, but we never see both teams (or their taxis) in the same shot so that is probably not quite what happened. Anyway the editing implies that one team took the stairs but the other was smart and took the elevator.

 "I absolutely despise gaming, everything about it", Tara

Teams reach Phil and the mat in the following order:
 1(+1) Brooke & Scott, do not win a prize though
 2(-1) Tara & Joey
 3(+0) London & Logan
 4(+0) Matt & Redmond, about 15 minutes later, are eliminated

 "We're so incredible fortunate to have this opportunity", Redmond

We then get to see the three remaining teams talk about why just they will win.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2017, 08:25:31 AM by maf »

Offline Marionete

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 11 is on page 1
« Reply #23 on: June 15, 2017, 05:44:16 AM »
You accidentally swapped the positions for Tara & Joey and London & Logan for the pit stop. ;)

Offline naejae91

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Re: Racing report TAR29: Episode 11 is on page 1
« Reply #24 on: June 15, 2017, 05:26:15 PM »
You're awesome.  :conf:


Regarding the Athens - Hanoi flight in leg 9, Neobie did suggest all teams take the Athens-Rome-Bangkok-Hanoi route with Brooke & Scott argue on the Athens-(unknown)-London-Hanoi route instead. (Detailed information and proof are on the page 2 of transportation thread)
TAR25/TAR29: Modern classic season.