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Offline maf

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Racing report season 31, episode #12 is on page #1
« on: April 21, 2019, 02:43:31 PM »
Placeholder for the title.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2019, 03:39:42 AM by maf »

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #1
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2019, 02:44:58 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 1, "You're in our race now"
Film date: 2018-06-10 - 2018-06-11

After a way too long hiatus the race is finally back. This time with a special season billed as a reality clash with contestants from previous seasons of Big Brother, Survivor and The Amazing Race.

This race starts at the end of the pier at Hermosa beach in Los Angeles, CA. The contestants this year are:
  • Rupert & Laura - married, Survivor
  • Janelle & Britney - friends, Big Brother
  • Leo & Jamal - cousins, Amazing Race
  • Nicole & Victor - engaged, Big Brother
  • Rachel & Elissa - sisters, Big Brother and Amazing Race (Rachel)
  • Colin & Christie - life partners, Amazing Race
  • Tyler & Korey - friends, Amazing Race
  • Becca & Floyd - friends, Amazing Race
  • Art & JJ - friends, Amazing Race
  • Chris & Bret - friends, Survivor
  • Corinne & Eliza - friends, Survivor

 "I'm doing this for you Pablo", Leo is racing for his cat

The start happens on the edge of the pier and the first task is to dig into a giant octopus sand sculpture on the beach to find their first clue. And when Phil says go the teams start running the ~400m to the beach and start digging.

 "My sand is broken", Christie make a reference to an earlier saying by Colin

Teams find their clue in the sand in the following order:
  1. Rachel & Elissa
  2. Rupert & Laura
  3. Nicole & Victor
  4. Becca & Floyd
  5. Janelle & Britney
  6. Leo & Jamal
  7. Chris & Bret
  8. Colin & Christie
  9. Tyler & Korey
 10. Corinne & Eliza
 11. Art & JJ

Route info: "Fly to Tokyo, Japan."

The starting line task had a second part which is not shown on the telecast. It involved pulling down octopus kites and looking for clues on their tails. Allegedly this task let you win an extreme roadblock which allowed you to make a roadblock harder for another team. Rumor has it that this went unused so it seems production cut the whole task.

All teams are on the same flight to Tokyo:
 AA169  LAX-NRT  12:25 - 15:55+1


Once teams arrive in Tokyo they are put on a bus and driven to Shibuya. Teams are handed their next clue when they exit the bus.

This clue is a route info telling them to travel on foot to one of two locations and pick up their next clue. The locations are ACB Lock & Security and Tokyo Tokyo restaurant. Both locations are about 500m away from where teams are dropped off (next to the Apa Hotel). There is a limited number of clues at each location.

Here teams are immediately thrown into the  the deep end of the pool. They get a navigational task at night in a chaotic city where there is a big language barrier. As one could expect chaos ensues.

 "Racers have an advantage. this ain't Big Brother, this ain't Survivor, You're in our race now", Jamal gets the title
 "Umm, I don't even know what to do", Rupert

Leo & Jamal spot a clue location across the street but as they have a number of other teams following them they pretend to be lost and fight over directions. Eventually the other teams move on and they can go and collect their clue.

As Rachel & Elissa find the locksmith they call Tyler & Korey who are nearby.

Teams reach one of the two clue points in the following order:
  1. Rupert & Laura, the restaurant
  2. Chris & Bret, the restaurant
  3. Leo & Jamal, the locksmith
  4. Janelle & Britney, the restaurant
  5. Colin & Christie, the restaurant
  6. Becca & Floyd, the locksmith
  7. Nicole & Victor, the restaurant
     Rachel & Elissa, the restaurant, but it is out of clues
     Tyler & Korey, the restaurant, but it is out of clues
  8. Rachel & Elissa, the locksmith
  9. Tyler & Korey, the locksmith
 10. Corinne & Eliza
 11. Art & JJ

Route info: "Travel on foot to the 5th floor of Edgeof Shibuya Building." This building is about 500m away.

 "This is way harder than Survivor", Rupert
 
Teams find the clue box in the Edgeof building in the following order:
  1(+2) Leo & Jamal
  2(+3) Colin & Christie
  3(+1) Janelle & Britney
  4(+3) Nicole & Victor
  5(+3) Rachel & Elissa
  6(+3) Tyler & Korey
  7(-1) Becca & Floyd
  8(-6) Chris & Bret
  9(-8) Rupert & Laura
 10(+0) Corinne & Eliza
 11(+0) Art & JJ, after all others have left

Road block: "Who wants a sweet new pair of shoes?"

This road block is yet another task inspired of a Japanese game show. Teams must find one of only 12 shoes made of chocolate in a room filled with more than 100 shoes, and they way to do this is to bite into it. They must sit down on a bench and indicate to the staff which shoe they want to try and when the shoe is brought to them they must try to take a bit to figure out if it is made from wood or chocolate.

If the shoe was wood the staff takes it to the side to be washed before they place it back on the shelf.

Once they find a shoe made of chocolate the staff draws two red lines on it and both team members must eat up to their respective line.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Leo & Jamal*      (0-1)On his 6th attempt
2(+1)Janelle* & Britney(1-0)On her first attempt
3(-1)Colin & Christie* (0-1)On her 12th attempt
4(+0)Nicole & Victor*  (0-1)On hist 43rd attempt
5(+1)Tyler* & Korey    (1-0)Seems to find it on his first attempt
6(-1)Rachel & Elissa*  (0-1)On her 10th attempt
7(+0)Becca & Floyd*    (0-1)On his 14th attempt
8(+0)Chris* & Bret     (1-0)After at least 27 attempts
9(+0)Rupert & Laura*   (0-1)
10(+0)Corinne & Eliza*  (0-1)On her 39th attempt
11(+0)Art & JJ*         (0-1)After many attempts

The next clue tells teams to travel by taxi to Onarimon Station. Once there they must proceed to Shiba Koen and search for their next clue.

 "We feel like we're a strong team and we haven't been able to prove that", Corinne thinks they are stronger than their placement indicates

Shiba Koen is a park and Onarimon Station is right at the edge of it. The park is not that big and the clue box is about 100m from the station, but some people have a hard time finding it. Janelle & Britney head down into the metro station and waste a lot of time down there. And then we have Rupert & Laura. Instead of going through the park they follow the street at the edge.
 "There's lights that way", Laura spots the challenge across the street, but Rupert does not think it can be it so they continue

Teams find the clue box in the park in the following order:

  1(+0) Leo & Jamal
  2(+1) Colin & Christie, as #1 is still doing this task
  3(+2) Tyler & Korey
  4(+0) Nicole & Victor, as #3 is at the task
  5(+1) Rachel & Elissa, as #3 is finishing
  6(+1) Becca & Floyd
  7(+1) Chris & Bret
  8(-6) Janelle & Britney
  9(+1) Corinne & Eliza
 10(+1) Art & JJ         
 11(-2) Rupert & Laura, as #10 is still here

Road block: Who wants to climb Mt Fuji?

In this road block contestants must dress up in a leotard and a ridiculous wig (which hides a helmet). Then they have to climb up a 20ft slippery slope and grab a clue from the top. There are hand holds on the slope but they start a bit up and are quite far apart.

Also the person who did not do the previous road block must do this one.

This task is extra hard since it has been (or is) raining so the slippery slope is extra slippery as it is wet.

Floyd is very sure that Becca will do it in under 30 seconds, and she delivers.

Most teams seem to complete this task without much trouble. The exceptions are Leo, Bret and Art. Leo struggled a lot. Bret got up fairly easily but he has not read his clue properly so he does not know what to do at the top so he slides down again without grabbing a clue. He then struggles when he has to climb it again.
 "I can't say anything", Chris at least know the rules
 "Go twinnie, you can do it", Eliza know at least something about the race

The biggest surprise here is Art.
 "I'm in way better shape than I was 7 years ago", voice over as he starts the task
Art struggles and after a while his legs start to cramp.
 "This is embarrassing", JJ
Eventually they realize that there is no way Art will be able to complete the task so they decide to take the penalty. This is four hours and they have to wait it out at the spot.

As they are waiting Rupert & Laura finally arrive, after having wandered through the park for more than two hours.

So Art & JJ can only sit and watch as Rupert attempts the climb. Art is pretty sure Rupert will never make it, but is proven wrong when Rupert gets to the top on hist first try.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Leo* & Jamal      (1-1)
2(+0)Colin* & Christie (1-1)
3(+0)Tyler & Korey*    (1-1)
4(+0)Nicole* & Victor  (1-1)
5(+0)Rachel* & Elissa  (1-1)
6(+0)Becca* & Floyd    (1-1)
7(+0)Chris & Bret*     (1-1)
8(+0)Janelle & Britney*(1-1)
9(+0)Corinne* & Eliza  (1-1)
10(+1)Rupert* & Laura   (1-1)
11(-1)Art* & JJ         (1-1)Art was unable to do the climb so they took the 4h penalty

Route info: "Make your way to the very first Pit Stop, Atago Jinja"

This temple is built on the highest hill in Tokyo and as Phil introduces it he also tells us that the last team to check in will be eliminated.

Teams reach Phil in the following order:
  1(+0) Leo & Jamal, win a 7 day cruise in Tahiti
  2(+0) Colin & Christie
  3(+0) Tyler & Korey
  4(+1) Rachel & Elissa
  5(+1) Becca & Floyd
  6(-2) Nicole & Victor
  7(+0) Chris & Bret
  8(+0) Janelle & Britney
  9(+0) Corinne & Eliza
 10(+0) Rupert & Laura
 11(+0) Art & JJ, are eliminated

At the pit stop Phil asks Chris & Bret about how the race differs from Survivor.
 "It is go go go, decisions, decisions, you have lots of time on Survivor to ponder your next move. Here it is go!", Chris

 "It just felt a little bit out of sync for us today", JJ


Offline Marionete

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #1 is on page #1
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2019, 03:19:06 PM »
I was waiting for this!!
To all the people that went on record saying the leg design was "shockingly bad", take a look at how many navigation issues the teams faced and how much the positions kept changing up until the last task.

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #2
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2019, 01:25:27 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 2, "Knock the Newbie out of us"
Film date: 2018-06-13 - 2018-06-14

The last pit stop was at Atago Jinja, a temple in Tokyo. This also seems to be where teams are released after about 28 hours. They are released in the following order:
1.Leo & Jamal      00:42
2.Colin & Christie 00:45+0:03
3.Tyler & Korey    00:54+0:12
4.Rachel & Elissa  01:00+0:18
5.Becca & Floyd    01:04+0:22
6.Nicole & Victor  01:06+0:24
7.Chris & Bret     ??:??+?:??
8.Janelle & Britney??:??+?:??
9.Corinne & Eliza  02:06+1"24
10.Rupert & Laura   04:25+3:43

Route info: "Fly to the city of Luang Prabang in Laos"

When they arrive they must travel by Tuk Tuk to Villa Santi where a courier will arrive with they next clue before sunrise.

The extra information mentions "When traveling in Laos you should wear pants and a shirt which covers your shoulders, stomach and back".
 "Hawaiian shirts are coming out", Becca

At the starting line we get an interview with Colin who think they have a grown a lot since season 5. He was very intense and frantic back then but has since noticed that that does not really help you get anywhere faster.

First teams must go to "Tickets Today" and pick up their tickets.

Tickets Today is a small ticket agency which is just a window to the street, or at least that is what is open when the racers get there in the middle of the night.

When they arrive in their taxis to the area where the ticket agent is Elissa asks Floyd if they should work together to find it. Then it seems as if Nicole & Victor arrive and Becca & Floyd join them as well and go looking. They do not seem to wait for Rachel & Elissa when they seem busy talking to their camera (about how they just formed Team Fun 2.0). Rachel & Elissa feel hurt by this.

At the airport Rupert & Laura are happy to see the other teams.
 "We just want to keep in the race and keep getting more knowledge, keep getting more experience and knock this newbie out of us", Rupert gets the title
 
All teams are on the same flight via Hanoi. It seems their flight was something like:
  VN311  NRT-HAN  10:00 - 14:10
  QV314  HAN-LPQ  19:10 - 20:30


All teams make it to Villa Santi where they get a chance to sleep a few hours before the courier arrives at 05:00. When he arrives he is mobbed by racer wanting their next clue.

Route info: "Make your way to give on to the monks"

Teams must now make their way to Wat Sensoukaram and participate in a ceremony where they must give to the monks.

Rupert & Laura share a Tuk Tuk with Leo & Jamal. The other teams make it there on foot. The Tuk Tuk ends up behind Corinne & Eliza. The girls make sure to stay on the road and make sure the Tuk Tuk can not pass them.

 "The Afghanimals looked like they had the most fun when we watched them on TV", Eliza
 "And then they weren't that fun or helpful", Corinne

Teams arrive at Wat Sensoukaram in the following order:
  1. Chris & Bret
  2. Tyler & Korey
  3. Janelle & Britney
  4. Corinne & Eliza
  5. Leo & Jamal
  6. Becca & Floyd
  7. Rupert & Laura
  8. Colin & Christie
  9. Rachel & Elissa
 10. Nicole & Victor

They pick up baskets of offerings and sit down in the order they arrived. After a while the monks arrive and receive their offerings.

Once the racers run out of offerings they run back to the table where they got their baskets and get their next clue. Some racers at the back of the line seems to run out faster because they run over as the ones at the front are still handing out offerings.

Route info: "Make your way on foot to the big tree by the Mekong river and search for your next clue".

 "Half the teams ran that way and half the teams ran that way", Jamal when they arrive at the river
 
At the tree teams find a double U-turn board. They reach it in the
following order:
  1(+8) Rachel & Elissa, U-turns Becca & Floyd
  2(+6) Colin & Christie
  3(+7) Nicole & Victor
  4(+1) Leo & Jamal
  5(+1) Becca & Floyd, U-turns Tyler & Korey
  6(-2) Corinne & Eliza
  7(-5) Tyler & Korey
  8(-5) Janelle & Britney
  9(-8) Chris & Bret
 10(-3) Rupert & Laura

Leo & Jamal were thinking about U-turning Tyler & Korey but then decided to let Becca & Floyd, who were just arriving, do it. They make sure to tell team Fun to U-turn Tyler & Korey though.

Detour: "ABC or BBQ"

In ABC teams must go a nearby school (Ecole maternel Louangprabang) and learn to pronounce the letters of the Laotian alphabet. The letters all sound very much alike to westerners but the board they learn them from has English versions written on it as well (like kor, khor, kkhor, ngar...). Once they think they got it they go to a nearby classroom where they have to repeat the letters as the teacher points to another board (this time without the English versions). The classroom is filled with very cute kids which laughs when they make an error, but the judging does not seem too harsh.

In BBQ teams must head to a nearby market and prepare barbecue skewers. They first have to go and buy the ingredients, 3 ducks and eight fish. Then they have to gut and descale the fish and cut the ducks.

 "Big Brother did not prepare us for the exhaustion of the race at all", Britney
 "We saw right away that the language was very tonal", Korey

Teams complete the detour in the following order
        Tyler & Korey, ABC
  1(+5) Corinne & Eliza, ABC
  2(+2) Leo & Jamal, BBQ
  3(+0) Nicole & Victor, NNQ
        Becca & Floyd, BBQ
  4(+4) Janelle & Britney, BBQ
  5(-3) Colin & Christie, BBQ
  6(-5) Rachel & Elissa, BBQ
  7(+3) Rupert & Laura, ABC
  8(-3) Becca & Floyd, ABC
  9(+0) Chris & Bret, BBQ
 10(-3) Tyler & Korey, BBQ

Route info: "Travel by Tuk Tuk to Elephant village on the bank of Nam Khan river and search for your next clue".

On their way to the Elephant Village Corinne & Eliza are in the lead but they stop when they see a sign and start debating what it means. As they do so two other teams pass them.

When they arrive at the Elephant village Corinne & Eliza and Janelle & Brittney run past the clue box at the entrance. Once inside Victor starts to help them but is stopped by Leo. Eventually the girls backtrack and find the clue.

Teams find the clue at the Elephant village in the following order:
  1(+1) Leo & Jamal
  2(+1) Nicole & Victor
  3(-2) Corinne & Eliza
  4(+0) Janelle & Britney
  5(+0) Colin & Christie
  6(+0) Rachel & Elissa
  7(+1) Becca & Floyd
  8(+1) Chris & Bret
  9(+1) Tyler & Korey
 10(-3) Rupert & Laura

Road block: "Who likes to be in command?"

In this road block contestants must get up on an elephant and then using commands in Lao convince it to cross the river and search for a musician in the jungle.

 "My life is made", Nicole as she rides her elephant across the river
 "Wait, there is no like harness? I'm just gonna bareback?", Britney

All teams are at this road block at the same time. But they are spread out as it seems to take a while. Also the deciding factor here seems to be which elephant you get, the last teams to arrive got the most sluggish elephants.

 "Pai baby please", Rupert tries to get his elephant to move.
 "This is the slowest footrace I've ever seen", Victor as the first teams try to get their elephants to go the last bit
 "I'm so happy", Korey likes being on an elephant
 "He loves elephants but I do not think he loves that elephant", Laura sees Rupert struggle to get his elephant to move

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+1)Nicole* & Victor  (2-1)
2(-1)Leo & Jamal*      (1-2)
3(+0)Corinne* & Eliza  (2-1)
4(+2)Rachel & Elissa*  (1-2)
5(+0)Colin & Christie* (1-2)
6(-2)Janelle & Britney*(1-2)
7(+2)Tyler & Korey*    (1-2)
8(+0)Chris* & Bret     (2-1)
9(-2)Becca* & Floyd    (2-1)
10(+0)Rupert* & Laura   (2-1)

The next clue is a route info telling teams to race to the next pit stop. They must first travel by Tuk Tuk to Wat Xiengthong where they can board a long tail boat which will take them to Prince Phetsarath's palace.

The first two teams finish the road block seconds after each other and there is a mad dash to the pit stop. At a crucial moment Leo & Jamal manage to confuse Nicole so they can pass them and are first to the boats.

Teams reach Phil in the following order:
  1(+1) Leo & Jamal, win $2,500 each
  2(-1) Nicole & Victor
  3(+1) Rachel & Elissa
  4(+1) Colin & Christie
  5(+1) Janelle & Britney
  6(-3) Corinne & Eliza
  7(+0) Tyler & Korey
  8(+0) Chris & Bret
  9(+0) Becca & Floyd
 10(+0) Rupert & Laura, are eliminated

 "I consider myself one of the toughest survivors out there, and Amazing Race kicked my ass", Rupert
« Last Edit: May 01, 2019, 06:38:30 PM by maf »

Offline claude_24hrs

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #2 is on page #1
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2019, 08:44:17 AM »
Maf, here are the things:

The Pit Stop rest was in between 28 hours long, not 24 hours.

Also, the flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang on June 13th, 2018 was Lao Airlines 314, departed at 19:10 and arrived at 20:30.


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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #3
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2019, 04:51:39 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 3, "Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy"
Film date: 2018-06-16 - 2018-06-17

The last pit stop was at Prince Phetsarath's palace in Laos. They may be released from the same place but we are only shown glimpses of the start. We are not even shown the start order.

From hints in the behind the scenes videos we can guess they got released around 06:30.

The first clue tells teams to fly to Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam. Teams also get an IPhone which they must use to book their tickets on using the Travelocity app.

Once they arrive in Vietnam they must go to the house of Vietnamese medicine and find a doctor who will give them their next clue.

At the airport in Laos Becca & Floyd speak to Tyler & Korey and try to make amends for U-turning them in the last leg. They even have a peace offering, a package of Beccas heme made trail mix. After a while Rachel & Elissa turn up and they also have a small peace offering which they give to Becca. Everybody act civilized but we will see what happens in the future.
 "We are seeking revenge", Becca

Also at the airport the Big Brother teams (Rachel & Elissa,  Janelle & Britney and Nicole & Victor) make an alliance.

All teams are on the same flight. Probably:
  VN931  LPQ-REP  14:40 - 16:05
  VN812  REP-SGN  18:20 - 19:38


At the airport in Vietnam there is the customary mad dash for taxis (accompanied by the ride of the Valkyries inspired music)

The center for Vietnamese medicine is located in a building with multiple floors so teams have to search a bit to find the doctor.

As Leo & Jamal leave the center they encounter Corinne & Eliza. They try to fool the girls by arguing and saying it is not here. They manage to sow a little doubt but the girls soon decide out they must be lying and find the doctor.
 "They are the biggest liars", Corinne & Eliza

Teams find the doctor in the following order:
 1. Colin & Christie
 2. Tyler & Korey
 3. Becca & Floyd
 4. Rachel & Elissa
 5. Janelle & Britney
 6. Nicole & Victor
 7. Leo & Jamal, arrive after the earlier teams have left
 8. Corinne & Eliza, arrive as #7 are leaving
 9. Chris & Bret, arrive as #8 are leaving

Detour: Reel it in or Light it up

Reel it in takes place at Thanh Da, a local prawn restaurant. Here guests must catch their own dinner in a big pool. Teams must catch 8 giant prawns using a fishing pole to get their next clue.

In light it up teams must learn a dance routine. Then put on light-up suits and perform it together with a dance group in a dark room in front of a strict judge.

The detours are located just across the street from each other.

The dancing is harder than teams expected. The routine is quick and the judge is strict. There is only one stage where they can perform so after teams have done an attempt they must go to the back of the line.

 "We choose dance because we were both professional cheerleaders together", Rachel
 "Here Fishy, Fishy Fishy", Korey gets the title

At the fishing detour there are lots of locals also fishing so teams can get some tips. But mainly it is a matter of patience and some luck.

At the dancing Becca & Floyd are the first to leave the training area and that pays dividends when they are able to do their second attempt immediately as no other teams are waiting.
 "Are these light up suits?", Floyd is very exited when he realizes that the suits will light up
 "Energy, we got that", Becca when she hears the judge wants more energy
 "I think it was harder than any of us realized it was going to be", Colin about the dance
 "I feel like the dance could have gotten better if we weren't completely exhausted and dehydrated", Janelle & Brittney

The prawns turn out to be very big
 "Oh my go, that is humogo", Tyler
Once caught teams must open the mouth of the prawn to get the hook out. This is not for the faint of hearth. Specially Corinne & Eliza have trouble with this as they prawn keeps pinching them, and it actually manages to cause some minor bleeding.

Chris & Brett initially decide to go dancing but after having made one attempt they switch to fishing. They arrive to the fishing pond just as Corinne & Eliza leave.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+2) Becca & Floyd, dance on their 2nd attempt
 2(-1) Colin & Christie dance on their 4th attempt
 3(+3) Nicole & Victor dance on their 8th attempt
 4(+3) Corinne & Eliza, fishing
 5(-4) Tyler & Korey, fishing
 6(-3) Rachel & Elissa dance on their 18th attempt
 7(-2) Janelle & Britney dance on their 6th attempt
 8(+1) Chris & Bret, fishing
 9(-2) Leo & Jamal dance on their 27th attempt

Road block: Who is ready to tune out?

In this road block teams must learn a few lines of a popular song in Vietnamese. They will then have to perform this in a Karaoke bar.

The team member not doing the karaoke gets to party with the locals in the performance area.

At the Karaoke Leo has a different approach where he skips practicing and goes direct to performing. It does not go well so he has to go back and actually do some practicing.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Becca & Floyd*    (2-2)Leaves before the next team arrives
2(+1)Nicole & Victor*  (2-2)
3(-1)Colin* & Christie (2-2)
4(+1)Tyler* & Korey    (2-2)
5(-1)Corinne & Eliza*  (2-2)
6(+1)Janelle* & Britney(2-2)
7(-1)Rachel* & Elissa  (2-2)
8(+1)Leo* & Jamal      (2-2)
9(-1)Chris & Bret*     (2-2)

The next clue is a route info sending teams to the next pit stop at the Ho Thi Ky flower market.

Teams reach Phil in the following order (the arrival times are approximate)
1(+0)Becca & Floyd    22:50Win a trip to the Bahamas
2(+0)Nicole & Victor  23:38(+0:48)
3(+0)Colin & Christie 23:50(+1:00)
4(+0)Tyler & Korey    00:05(+1:15)
5(+0)Corinne & Eliza  00:20(+1:30)
6(+0)Janelle & Britney00:55(+2:05)
7(+0)Rachel & Elissa  01:00(+2:10)
8(+0)Leo & Jamal      01:12(+2:22)
9(+0)Chris & Bret     01:30(+2:40)Are saved by a non-elimination

Offline maf

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #4
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2019, 03:18:19 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 4, "I took out a polar bear"
Film date: 2018-06-18

The last pit stop was at the Ho Thi Ky flower market in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. This is also where teams are released after a pit stop of 28 hours.

1.Becca & Floyd    02:47
2.Nicole & Victor  03:36(+0:49)
3.Colin & Christie 03:46(+0:59)
4.Tyler & Korey    04:06(+1:19)
5.Corinne & Eliza  04:19(+1:32)
6.Janelle & Britney04:55(+2:08)
7.Rachel & Elissa  05:02(+2:15)
8.Leo & Jamal      ??:??(+??:??)Probably at 05:12 (+2:25)
9.Chris & Bret     ??:??(+??:??)Probably at 05:30 (+2:43)

Route info: Make your way to Snowtown Saigon.

 "We are just like Mom and dad coming to play with all the young millenials with their big followings", Colin likes to keep a low profile
 "Is there anything we can improve from the last leg, other than... I don't know", Eliza
 "Why are we not better at this than they are?", Corinne wants to be better than the Big Brother teams

Snowtown opens at 06:30 so all teams have time to bunch up.
 "It's okay, at least we can juggle", Becca

Once it opens teams rush in and to the top of the not very big slope. Here they must find sleds (not that hard) and ride them down to the bottom where somebody dressed up as a polar bear will give them their next clue.

At the bottom of the slope there are a couple of locals who help the racers to stop. But they fail to stop Britney who instead crash into the polar bear.

Chris & Bret also find their speed bump here. They must make enough snowballs to fill a cooler and then bring it to the next route marker. The polar bear inspects all the snowballs as they make them, and he seems to be a strict judge They must be large enough and tight. This task is not trivial since the "snow" they have to work with is more like ice, and they are still in their summer clothes so it is cold and their hands get numb.
 "It was a very picky polar bear", Chris & Bret

The next clue is a route info which tells teams to make their way to the College Transportation Central and search the grounds for their next clue.

Outside teams frantically search for taxis. Rachel & Elissa seem to have kept theirs. Corinne & Eliza try to jump into it but Rachel & Eliza chase them off. Leo & Jamal also seem to have a taxi waiting. Some of the other teams seems to have to spend a lot of time hunting for a taxi.
 "On season 5 there would have been a lot more profanity, it would have been bad/i]", Colin after the hunt for a taxi

Teams arrive to the transportation hub in the following order:
 1. Leo & Jamal
 2. Rachel & Elissa
 3. Nicole & Victor
 4. Corinne & Eliza
 5. Chris & Bret
 6. Becca & Floyd
 7. Colin & Christie
 8. Janelle & Britney
 9. Tyler & Korey

Road block: Who feels like driving themselves crazy?

In this tasks teams must make their way through a scooter course. They must stay between the lines and may not touch the ground with their feet. The scooters have manual gears so it is not trivial to drive them.
 "It looks really hard, but luckily I have major balance", Elissa

Eliza really struggles with this task, a very contributing reason is probably that she is afraid of the scooter.
 "I'm getting worse, not better", Eliza
 
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Leo & Jamal*      (2-3)On his 6th attempt
2(+0)Rachel & Elissa*  (2-3)On her 7th attempt
3(+0)Nicole & Victor*  (2-3)On his 3rd attempt
4(+3)Colin* & Christie (3-2)On his 1st attempt
5(+0)Chris* & Bret     (3-2)On his 4th attempt
6(+0)Becca* & Floyd    (3-2)On her 2nd attempt
7(+1)Janelle* & Britney(3-2)On her 5th attempt
8(+1)Tyler & Korey*    (2-3)On his 5th attempt
9(-5)Corinne & Eliza*  (2-3)On her 10th attempt

Route info: Make your way to Binh Quoi Village #1 to find your next clue.

Teams get their clue here in the following order:
 1(+0) Leo & Jamal
 2(+0) Rachel & Elissa
 3(+1) Colin & Christie
 4(-1) Nicole & Victor
 5(+1) Becca & Floyd
 6(-1) Chris & Bret
 7(+0) Janelle & Britney
 8(+0) Tyler & Korey
 9(+0) Corinne & Eliza, arrive as team #6 are leaving

Detour: Irritation or Irrigation

In irritation both team members must get into a traditional Vietnamese circular boat (same type as broke Flo). Teams must paddle ~180 meters to retrieve a basket of fish. On the way they need to carry their boat over two bridges and avoid some annoying fishermen.

In irrigation teams must complete an irrigation wheel and once they get their build approved they must use it to fill an urn with water. They start by picking up a bag of parts and then go to an almost complete wheel where they must add their parts. There is an example to look at but not right where they are building.

It is hard to figure out which detour is the better choice from just the clue. Here we quickly see that paddling the boat is way quicker than building the irrigation wheel.

 "This looks like more fun anyway", Becca is happy they choose to paddle

Leo & Jamal have no problem with the building but then they realize they have to fill the urn as well, and this takes a long time. Rachel & Elissa struggle with their building. After some failed attempts Rachel wants to switch but Elissa wants to continue. After some more attempts the finally judge approves them. Then they also have to fill their urn.
 "This is worse than watching paint dry", Elissa

Colin & Christie are close to making a big mistake. When they get to the baskets with fish Colin grabs 5 fish and puts them in their boat. He leaves the basket which they also need to bring. But as he starts paddling back Christie rereads the clue, smart, and realize their mistake. They turn around and pick up the basket as well. This allows Nicole & Victor to pass them.

As they row back Chris is paddling and kneeling close to Brett.
 "Brett is taking a little love-ride"m Chris
 "I always dreamed Venice would be like this", Brett

 "I just sliced my finger wide open", Korey cut himself on the boat

Rachel & Eliza think that the annoying fishermen, who are standing up in their boars, are showing how they should do it so they both stand up in the boat. This is probably the reason they are the only team which capsizes.

We see that as Rachel & Elissa leave Corinne & Eliza are lifting their basket over one of the bridges so they are not quite as close behind as the edit suggests.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+3) Nicole & Victor, paddle
 2(+1) Colin & Christie, paddle, just after #1
 3(-2) Leo & Jamal, build
 4(+1) Becca & Floyd, paddle
 5(+1) Chris & Bret, paddle
 6(+2) Tyler & Korey, paddle
 7(+0) Janelle & Britney, paddle
 8(-6) Rachel & Elissa, build
 9(+0) Corinne & Eliza, paddle

The next clue tells teams to run to Phil on the mat in Tam Vu Park. What we do not get to see in the telecast at right before the pit stop teams encountered a head to head. Teams had to play badminton against each other and the winners of each match could check in and the losers had to play the next team. The last team to loose faces elimination.

The pit stop greeter is a very cute little girl who definitely has an emotional impact on some of the racers.

Teams check in to the pit stop in the following order:
 1(+1) Colin & Christie, win a trip to the Dominican Republic
 2(-1) Nicole & Victor
 3(+2) Chris & Bret
 4(+0) Becca & Floyd
 5(+1) Tyler & Korey
 6(-3) Leo & Jamal
 7(+0) Janelle & Britney
 8(+0) Rachel & Elissa
 8(+0) Corinne & Eliza, are eliminated

 "She did it all today, I took out a polar bear", Brittney tells that Janelle did carry the team this day (and get the title)

Corinne & Eliza arrive to the mat as Rachel and Elissa stands there, and then things turn awkward. Corinne & Eliza are very sore losers. They roll their eyes when Rachel & Elissa try to be gracious and tell them how much they respect them.

 "We gave it everything we had, and when you know that you've given it everything you have and you still fail. They you, like what I had wasn't enough, which is the lowest of the low feeling", Corinne

It get so bad that Corinne & Eliza feel they have to step away from the mat so they can act out their disappointment away from Rachel & Elissa. There is nothing in what was shown which indicates that Rachel & Elissa bears any blame in this, they did try to act with respect but Corinne & Eliza refused to accept it.
 "I just couldn't cry on the mat in front of them like I'm not gonna give them the satisfaction", Eliza

Part of the reason for their extreme reaction could be that they felt that they were superior to the big brother teams and then it really hurt to loose to one of them. At least that is the impression the editors give us. Corinne & Eliza also make some comments about blocking other contestants on social media, but apparently that did not happen.

Normally each episode ends with an inspiring quote from the eliminated tea, but no such thing this week.

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #5
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2019, 01:46:03 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 5, "I'm a bird, I'm on a plane, I'm on The Amazing race""
Film date: 2018-06-19 - 2018-06-20

The last Pit Stop was in Ho-Chi-Minh city, Vietnam. Teams are released from somewhere else in the city in the following order:
1.Colin & Christie 01:46
2.Nicole & Victor  02:10(+0:24)
3.Chris & Bret     02:25(+0:39)
4.Becca & Floyd    03:01(+1:15)
5.Tyler & Korey    03:27(+1:41)
6.Leo & Jamal      03:50(+2:04)
7.Janelle & Britney04:16(+2:30)
8.Rachel & Elissa  04:40(+2:54)

The first clue tells teams to fly to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Once there they must go to a super car tailgate party in the dessert to find their next clue.

 "We're getting as close as possible to the motherland", Jamal is stoked as they are from Afghanistan

Everybody is on the same flight, probably:
  VJ803  SGN-BKK  11:15 - 12:45
  TG517  BKK-DBX  16:20 - 19:45


This turns out to be yet another night leg, the third so far in this season.

Once in Dubai there is the usual rush out to the taxis. The clue included directions to the tailgate party so it is not too hard to find.

The party is out in the desert and there is not much party to it. Just a bunch of guys in local clothes sitting around a small table in the dessert drinking tea. Teams sit down and have a cup of tea and as they fidget and wonder when they will get their next clue one of the hosts tells them the clue is in one of the cars.

There is a bunch of luxury/super-cars standing around and teams find their next clue inside. Sadly they do not get to drive those cars but must get back into the taxis they came in.

Most teams seem to get here together but Nicole & Victor and Becca & Floyd are a bit behind.

 "We just sit and chill here", One of the locals plays with Victor & Nicole
 "Also, clue's in the car", one of the other takes pity and lets them go

Teams must now travel to the Dubai Frame, a very iconic building shaped like a picture frame, it is 150m high so it is pretty large. Once there they must make their way to the top where they will find their next clue.

Rachel & Elissa are the first to leave the desert but their driver takes the wrong exit and then they are lost. Much frantic yelling ensues.
 "Well, at least we got to see more of Dubai", Elissa without much enthusiasm

Teams get the clue at the top of the frame in the following order:
 1. Leo & Jamal
 2. Colin & Christie
 3. Chris & Bret, just after #2
 4. Tyler & Korey
 5. Janelle & Britney
 6. Nicole & Victor
 7. Becca & Floyd
 8. Rachel & Elissa, just after #7

Detour: Fall or Find

In fall teams must jump from the Burj Khalifa (9min, 7km away). Or at least that is what the clue says. In reality once they get to the top of the tower they find out that what they really have to do is a VR experience thing which consists of a small mission about a crashing satellite and which ends with them having to do a jump from the tower (in the VR experience). The kicker comes afterwards when they get handed a form with five questions about the experience. They must each give correct answers to the questions or they have to go to the back of the line and try again. There are four VR stations available so two teams can do the task simultaneously.

In find teams must ride their taxi to Dubai garden Glow (5min, 2.4km away), dress up in ridiculous dinosaur outfits and search the garden for 5 different colored eggs which they have to bring back to a nest.

This was a sneaky detour where the fall task was not all what the racers expected. And the questions at the end trip a number of them. The initial clue also says that only two teams may attempt the jump at any one time.

As Rachel & Elissa arrive at the dinosaur detour Rachel see that many teams are there and therefore she wants to switch. She thinks the first two teams will be done with the jump once they get there and that option will be faster. She manages to persuade Elissa and they leave for the tower.

 "I'm having majorly second thoughts", Brittney as she dresses in the dinosaur costume
 "The jump is going to be super quick and then we can move on", Rachel (she has no idea what awaits them)

Teams look ridiculous when they run in the Tyrannosaurus Rex costumes. Which I assume is the point. The actual task is fairly straightforward. The eggs are big and glowing so they are easy to spot but the place seems fairly big so it takes a little while to find them all.

The only ones having any difficulty at all with the dinosaur eggs are Janelle & Brittney who find a giant playground egg and think that is their nest. But they soon figure out their mistake.

 "It was harder than the DMV test for sure", Elissa after the VR test

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+2) Chris & Bret, dinosaur
 2(+0) Colin & Christie, VR on their 2nd attempt
 3(+1) Tyler & Korey, VR on their 2nd attempt
 4(+3) Becca & Floyd, dinosaur
 5(+1) Nicole & Victor, dinosaur
 6(-1) Janelle & Britney, dinosaur
 7(-6) Leo & Jamal, VR on their 5th attempt
 8(+0) Rachel & Elissa, started dinosaur but switched to VR which they completed on their 3rd shown attempt

Route info: "Take your taxi to Soho garden and find your next clue"

Teams arrive at the Soho garden (~15min 12km away) in the following order:
 1(+0) Chris & Bret
 2(+3) Nicole & Victor
 3(-1) Colin & Christie
 4(+0) Becca & Floyd, just after #3
 5(-2) Tyler & Korey
 6(+0) Janelle & Britney, before anybody has left
 7(+0) Leo & Jamal, after all the earlier teams have left
 8(+0) Rachel & Elissa, as #7 are leaving

Road block: "Who can feel the beat?"

This road block takes place inside the Soho Garden club where a silent rave night is in full swing. That is everybody in there is wearing headphones and dancing to different dance mixes. Contestants must go to the DJ and get a pair of headphones playing one of the mixes (a remix of the Amazing Race Theme) they must then find one of the guests who are dancing to the same beat and bring them back to the DJ.

 "This is not good, I'm not a dancer", Bret does not have a lot of confidence going into this task
 "I know how to feel the rhythm myself and recognize that rhythm in other people", Floyd feel his years as a Drum Major will help him
 "I was making eye contact with them and "are you feeling what I'm feeling?", a lot of people were not", Tyler about his strategy
 "Rachel, hopefully will catch us up. She's just awesome", Elissa believes in her sister

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+3)Becca & Floyd*    (3-3)
2(+0)Nicole* & Victor  (3-3)
3(+2)Tyler* & Korey    (3-3)
4(-3)Chris & Bret*     (3-3)
5(-2)Colin & Christie* (3-3)
6(+0)Janelle* & Britney(4-2)
7(+0)Leo* & Jamal      (3-3)
8(+0)Rachel* & Elissa  (3-3)

Route info: "Make your way to the Pit Stop. To get there ride the worlds longest urban zip line."

The Pit Stop is in the Dubai Marina but the zip line starts at Ammwaj tower (25min, 26km away). The extra info says "Amwaj tower 4. Walk up the stairs to the roof. Your arrival to the roof is your order you check in to the Pit Stop". The instructions also say something bout a marked elevator.

Chris & Brett get into the same elevator as Becca & Floyd.
 "I love you, but we are getting first today", Becca to Chris & Brett in the elevator

 "I'm a bird, I'm a plane, I'm n the Amazing Race", Korey gets the title while riding the zip line

We get quite a few shots form the last two taxis. Leo & Jamal tell their driver to go faster and Rachel is crying about how great a time she has had.

Teams reach the mat at the top of the stairs by the zip line, and
subsequently the pit stop mat, in the following order:
 1(+0) Becca & Floyd, win $5000 each
 2(+2) Chris & Bret, got to the roof seconds after #1
 3(+2) Colin & Christie
 4(-1) Tyler & Korey
 5(-3) Nicole & Victor
 6(+0) Janelle & Britney
 7(+0) Leo & Jamal
 8(+0) Rachel & Elissa, are saved by a non-elimination

At the mat Becca & Floyd get Phil to rap with them to earn his own Phil-o-meter (a custom Funmeter).

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #6
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2019, 03:09:36 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 6, "Who wants a Rolex?"
Film date: 2019-06-21 - 2019-06-22

The last pit stop was at the Dubai Marina and this seems to be where teams are released for this leg. We only get departure times for the first two teams.

1.Becca & Floyd    02:25
2.Chris & Bret     02:26(+0:01)

Route info: "Fly to the pearl of Africa, Uganda"

Once they land teams must ride a taxi to the Uganda National Mosque in Kampala.

 "The challenge today is to appreciate a culture which doesn't quite appreciate us back as openly gay men", Tyler about Uganda's stance on homosexuality

All teams are on the same flight. At the airport we see that Janelle & Brittney are really close with Rachel & Vanessa and they all call themselves the mom squad.

Once they land in Kampala it is a mob scene as teams try to get taxis. We do not see any other passengers so it feels like they held everybody back a while and outside the terminal there are 8 taxi drivers waiting so I get the feeling they were arranged.

 "It's totally Ho-Chi-Minh 2.0", Brittney comments on the chaotic traffic
 "We're going literally down the middle of oncoming traffic", Brittney about their taxi (but the traffic is very slow)

At the mosque teams must change into the provided respectful clothes. They then reach the clue box in the courtyard in the following order:
 1. Nicole & Victor
 2. Tyler & Korey
 3. Colin & Christie
 4. Chris & Bret, after first climbing the minaret
 5. Rachel & Elissa
 6. Leo & Jamal
 7. Becca & Floyd
 8. Janelle & Britney, arrive as #7 are leaving

Route info: "Count the number of steps in the minaret". Teams must now climb the stairs to the top of the minaret. On the way they need to count the number of steps and at the top they must write down how many steps they climbed. The correct answer is 272. If they guess wrong they have to go back down and count again.

In order to remove ambiguity there is a red and yellow line on the floor before the first step after after the last step they need to count.

Chris & Brett are first but miss the clue box in the courtyard so they just climb to the top without counting the steps.

Tyler & Korey feel smart because they have done research and found that there are 304 steps from the bottom to the top of this minaret. So they do not bother to count the steps as they go up. Unfortunately for them the racers start from the second floor so 304 is wrong.

 "How many steps boys", Jamal asks Tyler & Korey who are just leaving the minaret
 "Lots", Korey

On their third time at the top Rachel wants to write 270 but Elissa persuades her to change to 272.

Teams reach the top of the minaret in the following order:
       Chris & Bret, did not count the steps )and did miss the clue at the courtyard)
       Tyler & Korey, guessed 304
 1(+0) Nicole & Victor
 2(+1) Colin & Christie
 3(-1) Tyler & Korey
 4(+0) Chris & Bret
       Rachel & Elissa, answer 234
 5(+1) Leo & Jamal
       Rachel & Elissa, answer 271
 6(-1) Rachel & Elissa
 7(+0) Becca & Floyd
 8(+0) Janelle & Britney

Route info: "Travel by taxi to Owino Market and enter through the main gate. Once there search the Soweto restaurant area for your next clue."

The Owino market is gigantic (20 football fields) and extremely hectic. Teams manage to find the clue box here in the following order:

 1(+0) Nicole & Victor
 2(+1) Tyler & Korey, just after #1
 3(-1) Colin & Christie, just after #2
 4(+1) Leo & Jamal
 5(-1) Chris & Bret
 6(+1) Becca & Floyd
 7(+1) Janelle & Britney, after 3 teams have left
 8(-2) Rachel & Elissa

This is where Rachel & Elissa find their speed bump. They must hand wash a bunch of clothes and them hang them to dry. When Phil presents the task he makes it look like finding a place for it to dry is going to be the hard part but that turned out to not be the case.

 "It's a lot of work", Elissa
 "Thank god for laundry machines", Rachel

Road block: "Who wants a Rolex?"

In this road block teams must make a special egg sandwich, locally known as a Rolex. They must first ask the vendor for a shopping list. Then shop the ingredients before finally making one Rolex to get their next clue.

The list of ingredients reads:
Quote
6 tomatoes
 4 green peppers
 4 carrots
 4 small red onions
 1 bag shredded
   cabbage

 "It looks like a food dish, I though it was a watch", Victor

Jamal is the only one shown to get his Rolex rejected by the judge. He has to go back and make a new one, but he does not need to go out shopping again.

 "It's okay, 5 second rule", Floyd picks up his bread from the ground where he dropped it

Janelle & Brittney is the only team which has an unbalanced road block count. So it is interesting to see Britney tell Janelle to do this task (thus making the count even more uneven). I wonder why?

Janelle is also the only one struggling here. She firmly believes they are making a watch and runs off looking for a watch vendor. She spends a lot of time searching. Along the way she pops by where Rachel & Elissa are washing clothes.
 "My god, I'm lost", Janelle

Eventually Janelle gets back to where Brittney is waiting. Brittney can not help her but when Janelle goes to a nearby food stand and asks them if they can help her find a Rolex stand they give her a list of ingredients.
 "Is was that easy? Are you serious", Janelle when she gets the list of ingredients
 
Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Nicole & Victor*  (3-4)
2(+0)Tyler & Korey*    (3-4)
3(+0)Colin* & Christie (4-3)
4(+1)Chris* & Bret     (4-3)
5(-1)Leo & Jamal*      (3-4)
6(+0)Becca & Floyd*    (3-4)
7(+1)Rachel & Elissa*  (3-4)
8(-1)Janelle* & Britney(5-2)

Route info: "Travel by taxi to GGaba Landing site...".
Here they need to find the village boat builders to receive their next clue.

At GGaba landing site there are red and yellow flags which indicate where the taxis should drop them off (and wait). There is also an arrow pointing in the direction of the boat builders.

Teams get the clue here in the following order:
 1(+2) Colin & Christie
 2(+0) Tyler & Korey, just after #1
 3(-2) Nicole & Victor, just after #2
 4(+0) Chris & Bret
 5(+0) Leo & Jamal
 6(+0) Becca & Floyd, while the first 5 teams are still doing it.
 7(+0) Rachel & Elissa, after the first 3 teams have left
 8(+0) Janelle & Britney, after all others have left

Detour: Salty roll or move the pole?

In salty roll teams must transport a wheelbarrow of fish parts to a work station. Then they must chop the fish, clean it and salt the skin.

In move the pole teams must transport firewood from the harbor to a stacking place where they must stack it like the locals. The wood must be loaded on the provided bicycles and they have to make several trips. The final stack will be about one normal person high.

 "It was wonderful to see the people of Uganda treat us so warmly", Korey

At this detour we get the final proof that Colin is well and truly a changed man. Their loaded bike first almost falls to its side and when they manage to keep it upright it falls backwards instead. The old Colin would have exploded but the new-an-improved(tm) Colin calmly start to repack the bike. It is a remarkable change and I can only congratulate somebody who has grown so much as a person.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+1) Tyler & Korey, wood
 2(-1) Colin & Christie, wood
 3(+0) Nicole & Victor, wood
 ?(+?) Chris & Bret, wood
 ?(+?) Leo & Jamal, wood
 ?(+?) Becca & Floyd, wood
 ?(+?) Rachel & Elissa, fish
 8(+0) Janelle & Britney, fish

The next clue tells teams it is time for a head to head.

This takes place by the Jahaza Pier. The rules of the head to head are:
1. The object of the game is to make four stacks of drums, of the same color
2. You may only move one drum at a time
3. You may only stack drums on the poles
4. You may never stack drums more than four high
5. When you think your drum stacks are correct grab the oxtail on the drum in front of the band leader
6. The band leader will indicate whether your stacks are correct by stopping the drums. If you grab the oxtail and the drumming does not stop, your stacks are not correct. Return the oxtail to the drum before continuing playing.

At the bottom of each pole is a big drum which the players never need to move. Both players have identical starting positions, These change between the matches.

Janelle & Brittney are very glad to see a head to head challenge because it means they have a shot, even though they are way behind the other teams.

Teams arrive at the head to head in the following order:
 1(+0) Tyler & Korey
 2(+0) Colin & Christie
 3(+0) Nicole & Victor
 4(+?) Chris & Bret
 5(+?) Becca & Floyd
 6(+?) Leo & Jamal
 7(+?) Rachel & Elissa
 8(+0) Janelle & Britney

The head to head matches are:
 1. Tyler vs Colin, Tyler wins
 2. Colin vs Victor, Colin wins
 3. Victor vs Chris, Victor wins
 4. Bret vs Floyd, Bret wins
 5. Floyd vs Leo, Floyd wins
 6. Jamal vs Rachel, Jamal wins
 7. Rachel vs Britney, Rachel wins

Phil is standing by the play area narrating during the match so I assume the winning team has to wait for him to get down to the mat out on the pier before they are allowed to run out to it.

IMHO this head to head was a dud. Apart from the first and last teams all teams lost their first match and won the second.

In the end teams checked in in this order:
 1(+0) Tyler & Korey, win a trip to Singapore
 2(+0) Colin & Christie
 3(+0) Nicole & Victor
 4(+0) Chris & Bret
 5(+0) Becca & Floyd
 6(+0) Leo & Jamal
 7(+0) Rachel & Elissa
 8(+0) Janelle & Britney, are eliminated

The final two teams run to the mat together. At the mat we also learn that Britney has a daughter who has survived cancer.

 "Despite running the worst leg that we ever ran I actually had a really great day", Britney
 "[i[It's gonna be memories forever[/i]", Brittney

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #7
« Reply #9 on: June 08, 2019, 02:29:39 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 7, "Living Fearlessly"
Film date: 2018-06-23 - 2018-06-24

The last pit stop was at Jahaza pier, Uganda. This is also where teams are released for the next leg in the following order (no departure times are given):
 1. Tyler & Korey
 2. Colin & Christie
 3. Nicole & Victor
 4. Chris & Bret
 5. Becca & Floyd
 6. Leo & Jamal
 7. Rachel & Elissa

The first clue tells teams to fly to Zurich, Switzerland. When they land teams must catch a train to Grindelwald and make their way to Gletscherschlucht where they will find their next clue.

First teams have to go to Equity agency and pick up their tickets.

On their way Nicole & Victor have to demonstrate their lack of geography knowledge. For the record, Sweden is a completely different country in the north of Europe and there is no Swiss language.

After picking up their tickets Becca & Floyd decide to have a beer at Miki's pub next to the ticket agency as they have about 6 hours until their flight. They are soon joined bu Leo & Jamal and Rachel & Elissa. The conversation turns to the U-turn everybody think is coming. Leo & Jamal and Becca & Floyd are all for U-turning Victor & Nicole and Colin & Christie. Rachel & Elissa, who consider themselves to be in an alliance with Victor & Nicole, tries to introduce Brett & Chris as candidates but the others think they are weak.

Later in the taxi Rachel says that they just smiled and agreed as one tend to do when the U-turn is discussed, but that they would like to U-turn team fun. Meanwhile Becca say that they have made friends with Rachel & Elissa so there is no desire to U-turn them now.

During the plane ride Rachel & Elissa tell Nicole & Victor that Becca & Floyd are going to U-turn them. Rachel tells them to make sure to get to the U-turn board first and U-turn Becca & Floyd instead.

Once they land all teams are on the same train to Grindelwald (via Interlaken). The train ride gives everybody time to talk. Rachel & Elissa tries to persuade Nicole & Victor to not tell anybody else that they told them. They also try to not mention that Leo & Jamal were present when the U-turn was discussed but they are unable keep their story straight. Victor & Nicole smell a rat and everything unravels.

The end result is that everybody mistrusts Rachel & Elissa. Eventually as Colin & Christie, Brett & Chris and Nicole & Victor sit together Colin suggests they hold hands and feel the love of the universe. Rachel & Elissa arrive and are invited to join. They do but Rachel has a disdainful look in her eyes and a big fake smile. She clearly does not feel the love.

My take on this is that Rachel & Elissa wanted to get Victor & Nicole to U-turn Becca & Floyd but that their intriguing backfired and now nobody will ever trust them again.

Teams are convinced that the next U-turn awaits at Gletscherschlucht so they all book it when they arrive in Grindelwald. It is a good 3km from the stations to the clue box.
 "Elissa, we've got a long run, don't sprint it out", Rachel
 "A beautiful day for a jog", Becca

They arrive to Gletscherschlucht in the following order:
 1. Tyler & Korey
 2. Becca & Floyd, Becca snags #2 just before Leo & Jamal
 3. Leo & Jamal
 4. Colin & Christie
 5. Nicole & Victor
 6. Rachel & Elissa
 7. Chris & Bret

The expected U-turn is not there, just a road block: "Who wants to take the scenic route?"

In this road block contestants must take a bungee-jump swing into the gorge (just as Colin & Christie suspected back in Uganda). There is nothing difficult about this task but it is scary.

This is a linear road block. That is there is no way to pass anybody unless they decide the jump is too scary for them. Nicole is very scared of heights.
 "Do we have to jump", Nicole to her jump instructor
 "No, just step off the platform", The instructor

 "If you do not jump, you need to go back in line", the jump instructor to Nicole
 "I'd never do this if it wasn't for a million dollars", Nicole
Nicole pulls herself together and does the jump.

 "I'm glad Korey did that", Tyler
 "I love this life", Becca as she swings

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Tyler & Korey*    (3-5)
2(+0)Becca* & Floyd    (4-4)
23+0)Leo* & Jamal      (4-4)
4(+0)Colin & Christie* (4-4)
5(+0)Nicole* & Victor  (4-4)
6(+0)Rachel & Elissa*  (3-5)
7(+0)Chris* & Bret     (5-3)

Route info: "Fly by helicopter to the Grimswald pass. When you land, search for your next clue."

There is no change in position during the helicopter ride. But there seems to be just one or two helicopters so the later teams have to wait for their turn to ride.

 "Is it still an Alp even when the snow melts?", Elissa reveals her depth of knowledge
 
As he exits the helicopter Colin can not resit playing a bit so he jumps out, rolls on the ground and come up pretending to cover the area with a weapon. All while Christie just steps out and walks to the clue box.

Detour: Water power or Water down?

In water power teams must ride the worlds steepest funicular (at least it was until 2017), the Gelmerbahn. Along the way they must look for eighth signs each listing the name of a water basin and how much water it holds. when they get to the top they have to run across a big dam to find an engineer who will give them a map which lists the volumes and some name plaques. They must place the correct name plaques on the correct places on the map. To make the task harder there is a number of extra names among the plaques. If they fail they have to ride the funicular again.

The names listed on the signs they pass during the funicular ride are:
 Totensee  3,000,000 m3
 Oberaarsee  57,000,000 m3
 Mattenalpsee  2,000,000 m3
 Trüblensee  11,000,000 m3
 Räterichsbodensee  25,000,000 m3
 Engstlensee  1,000,000 m3
 Grimselsee  94,000,000 m3
 Gelmersee  13,000,000 m3

In water down teams must go canyoning. They must start by rappelling 150ft into the canyon and then follow the water for a while.
 "Bret is afraid of heights, so that's good", Elissa is fighting it out for last with Chris & Bret
 "It's not in my wheelhouse, but I'm gonna do it", Brett at the top of the rappel (and he does it)

The catch with the water power detour is that the funicular takes abut 10 minutes for one way and there is only one carriage so once done teams must wait for it to arrive before they can go back down again.
 "My god, I'm afraid of roller coasters, I can't go up there", Nicole when she see the funicular

Teams must drive themselves to the detour. But it is made easier by the fact that there is a sign pointing which way the different detour options are.

At the water power detour Tyler & Korey encounter Sebastian, the perfect guide.
 "We knew we had to have him", Korey

There is not really any way to pass any other team on the water down detour. But some teams catch up with the team in front of them.
 "It's a little chilly", Tyler about the water (melt water tends to be very cold)

Teams complete this detour in the following order:
 1(+2) Leo & Jamal, water power
 2(-1) Tyler & Korey, canyoning
 3(-1) Becca & Floyd, canyoning
 4(+0) Colin & Christie, canyoning
 5(+0) Nicole & Victor, water power
 6(+0) Rachel & Elissa, canyoning
 7(+0) Chris & Bret, canyoning

Route info: Drive yourselves to the next pit stop in Micahelskirche in Miragen and search the grounds for Phil. Warning! The last to check in may be eliminated."

The teams doing the water power detour must first ride the funicular down to their cars again. This may take up to 20 minutes. Leo & Jamal end up having to wait and when the funicular finally is back up Nicole & Victor are in it.

As Tyler & Korey are backing their car out from the parking Colin is running to his car just wearing his underwear. He sees them and makes a quick mooning.
 "Nice ass", Korey yells to Colin
 "It's stunning, but don't look. Keep your eyes on the road", Tyler to Korey

Rachel & Elissa finish the detour right before Chris & Bret and both teams know that they are fighting it out for last.
 "I don't know where we're going, do they know where they are going?", Rachel
In the end Chris & Bret drive first and the sisters follow. But it is a case of the blind leading the blind since none of them know which way they should go.

Eventually both teams pull into a lookout area and find a local to ask. They learn they went in the wrong direction and need to turn around. As they do Elissa blocks the guys so the sisters end up in front.

Meanwhile Victor & Nicole are also lost. They also stop and flag somebody down and learn they have been driving in the wrong direction.
 "I hope that didn't cost us the race", Victor

Teams reach Phil in the following order:
 1(+1) Tyler & Korey, win a spa day before the next race leg
 2(+2) Colin & Christie
 3(+0) Becca & Floyd, just after #2
 4(-3) Leo & Jamal, as teams #2 & #3 are on the mat
 5(+1) Rachel & Elissa
 6(+1) Chris & Bret
 7(-2) Nicole & Victor, are saved by a non-elimination

At the mat Phil tells Rachel that she has now tied the record for the most number of legs run, 31. If she completes the next leg she will have the record.

Nicole & Victor arrive to the mat as Rachel & Elissa and Chris & Bret are standing there. Before they learn that it is a non-elimination leg there is a heated discussion with the sisters about the U-turn talk. This ends up with Nicole in tears (probably because she thinks they will be eliminated).
« Last Edit: June 10, 2019, 10:43:11 AM by maf »


Offline Marionete

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #7 is on page #1
« Reply #10 on: June 09, 2019, 09:59:44 AM »
Didn't Becca complete the roadblock second?

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #7 is on page #1
« Reply #11 on: June 10, 2019, 10:41:32 AM »
Didn't Becca complete the roadblock second?

That is right, I will update my post above.

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #8
« Reply #12 on: June 11, 2019, 12:37:41 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 8, "You're the apple in my eye"
Film date: 2018-06-26

The last pit stop was at Micahelskirche in Miragen, Switzerland. This also seems to be where teams are released after a long pit stop. They are released in the following order:
1.Tyler & Korey    04:45
2.Colin & Christie 05:03(+0:18)
3.Becca & Floyd    05:04(+0:19)
4.Leo & Jamal      05:09(+0:24)
5.Rachel & Elissa  04:49(+1:04)
6.Chris & Bret     05:50(+1:05)
7.Nicole & Victor  06:05(+1:20)

Route info: "Drive to Ballenberg. Once there make your way to Speilhall and await further instructions."

Becca & Floyd work with Colin & Christie and follow them to Ballenberg. Both teams seems to be happy with that arrangement.

 "We had a little bit of a drama with the Reilly sisters but there is no reason to bring it up again further, because it will just stress us out", Victor

Ballenberg turns out to be just 12 min away. Once they get there teams find a sign telling them it opens at 7:00.

While they wait Tyler & Korey pet a cat.

Rachel & Elissa try to repair their relationship with Leo & Jamal. They go up to them and take them to the side to talk to them. Chris & Bret listen in on the conversation while pretending to do stretches.
 "We're used to this, being excluded by the Oreilleys", Chris who was standing near Leo & Jamal
Leo & Jamal are not impressed by the sisters explanations.

From a later podcast we learn that Colin & Christie and Becca & Floyd went to a nearby town and got maps while they were waiting for Ballenberg to open.

All teams are waiting by the gate when it opens at 7. They all run up to the community hall, where they find Phil.
 "This is not good", Victor

From Becca & Floyd we also learn that the first thing teams had to do when they arrived at the hall was to draw rocks with numbers on. This determines the order of what is about to happen.

Once they are gathered Phil announces that they will be having a U-turn vote. All teams have to vote for another team to be U-turned. They have to say their vote out load in front of everybody. They will keep voting until they have decided which two teams will have to both sides of the detour. Phil also tells them that there will be no more non-elimination legs.
 "Don't waste it on us", Rachel tried to persuade the other teams

Nicole & Victor have a communication mishap. Vanessa whispers Rachel & Elissa to Victor and then says out loud that she does not know whom to choose. She is very surprised when he casts their vote on Leo & Jamal.

The votes falls like this:
 1. Rachel & Elissa, votes for Colin & Christie
 2. Nicole & Victor, votes for Leo & Jamal
 3. Colin & Christie, votes for Rachel & Elissa
 4. Leo & Jamal, votes for Colin & Christie
 5. Becca & Floyd, votes for Colin & Christie
 6. Tyler & Korey, votes for Nicole & Victor
 7. Chris & Bret, votes for Rachel & Elissa

The teams voting for Colin & Christie say they do it because they are the strongest team. Chris & Brett vote for Rachel & Elissa because they are the team they are the least close to. My guess is that Rachel & Elissa have spent most of their time trying to build relationships with the teams they consider to be strong, and they have therefore avoided Chris & Bret.
 "That wasn't smart", Rachel & Chris & Brett after their vote

Once the vote is done teams are released and run to the clue box outside the hall.

Here Victor & Nicole find their speed bump. They must take down and fold the 26 flags hanging in the community hall where the vote took place. At the start of this task they argue about the U-turn vote but eventually they reconcile their differences so they can put it behind them before they are done folding the flags.

Detour: "Haymaking or Cow dressing?"

In haymaking one team member must cut a lane of grass with a scythe. The other team member must rake up the grass and place it on a drying stand.

In cow dressing teams must first make a cows headdress from an example. Then place it on the cow and lead it to the festival where the cow and the headdress will be judged.

 "It's not like you to not want to put a headdress on a cow", Korey to Tyler
 "If there was a technique, I did not have it", Tyler on the scythe

At this detour we learn that Becca did landscaping for a couple of years, but she has never used a scythe before. Nevertheless she smokes the others with her scything skills.

At the cow dressing Rachel & Elissa are the first to complete the headdress. Theirs is not quite like the example while Colin & Christie seem to be more meticulous. It turns out that the judge who needs to approve them at the festival is very lax and approves everybody.

Christie insists she is the one who selects their cow. It is not shown in the episode but apparently she choose poorly and their cow ran away on their way to the festival so they had to go back and start over. We almost get a glimpse of the old Colin when their cow refuses to walk: "This is Bull****", but that is as far as he goes.
 "There was definitely thoughts of 'My cow is broken' going through my mind", Colin

Both U-turned teams start with the cow dressing. Rachel & Elissa complete it first but then they realize that they left their clue back where they made the headdress. They have a plan though:
 "Is there any way you guys could let us read your clue?", Elissa asks Colin & Christie
 "Absolutely not", Christie
It is not a good plan though. It is not shown in the episode but apparently they ran back to the headdress making station and retrieved their clue.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1. Becca & Floyd, haymaking
 2. Chris & Bret, haymaking
 3. Tyler & Korey, haymaking
 4. Leo & Jamal, haymaking
    Rachel & Elissa, cow dressing
    Colin & Christie, cow dressing
 5. Nicole & Victor, cow dressing
 6. Colin & Christie, haymaking
 7. Rachel & Elissa, haymaking

Route info: Drive yourselves to the town of Oberschwanden to find your next clue".

As they leave Becca & Floyd and Tyler & Korey decide to drive together.

Leo & Tyler get lost on their way.
 "Probably the other teams got maps, and we didn't", Jamal
 
The next clue box is at a farm (9min) and teams reach it in the following order:
 1(+2) Tyler & Korey
 2(-1) Becca & Floyd, just after #1
 3(-1) Chris & Bret
 4(+1) Nicole & Victor
 5(+1) Colin & Christie
 6(+1) Rachel & Elissa
 7(-3) Leo & Jamal

Road block: "Who wants to be a big shot?"

In this road block contestants must use a crossbow to hit an apple placed on the head of a scarecrow. The scarecrow is rigged so that if they hit the face of it, it falls back and the arms falls off. When that happens teams must reset it before they can try again. And it seems as if they are not allowed to go to the target until all present have shot all their 6 bolts. So there is a lot of waiting involved.

The first step is to choose an armorer who will hand them their crossbow.
 "I choose you Pokemon", Becca runs to one of the armorers

 "I'm a Boston police sergeant, I'm a pretty good shot too", Bret
 "It might be a little harder than I through", Tyler after hitting the head on his first shot

We get to see so many head hots that I wonder if the producers have not "adjusted" the sights a bit for entertainment purposes.

 "You're the apple in my eye", Korey gets the title when Tyler hits his apple

As she arrives to the waiting area Christie talks to Floyd.
 "Unconditional love babe", Christie gives Floyd a hug
 "I'm so sorry", Floyd apologizes for U-turning them

 "This is the road block made for Colin, he's pretty good at this", Christie
 "Well, every road block is made for Colin to be fair", Floyd

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+2)Chris & Bret*     (5-4)
2(-1)Tyler* & Korey    (4-5)
3(-1)Becca* & Floyd    (5-4)
4(+1)Colin* & Christie (5-4)
5(-1)Nicole & Victor*  (4-5)
6(+1)Leo & Jamal*      (4-5)
7(-1)Rachel* & Elissa  (4-5)

The next clue tells teams to drive into Brienz and park at the marked spot (7min). Then they have to drive a boat across the lake to the pit stop in the gardens of Grand Hotel Giessbach.

BTW this was the pit stop hotel after the last leg of the race and also after this leg.

The extra information says that teams can make their way on foot or use the funicular to reach the hotel. The funicular runs on a fixed schedule.

There is a race for first between Chris & Bret and Tyler & Korey. The former have a head start but the latter have less mass so their boat is slightly faster. Chris & Brett reach the hotel jetty just before Tyler & Korey. They know they can not win a footrace so they go for the funicular, Unfortunately they are out of luck as the current time is 9 and the next departure is at 10:14.

Becca & Floyd have a bit of trouble finding the marked parking in Brienz so Colin & Christie can pass them.

Teams reach Phil at the hotel (104 m above the lake) in the following order:
 1(+1) Tyler & Korey, win a cruise through Vietnam & Cambodia
 2(-1) Chris & Bret
 3(+1) Colin & Christie
 4(-1) Becca & Floyd
 5(+0) Nicole & Victor
 6(+0) Leo & Jamal, just after #5
 7(+0) Rachel & Elissa, are eliminated

 "Our memories I'm gonna tell my grand-kids, they're not even gonna believe me, we are so blessed", Rachel

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #9
« Reply #13 on: June 16, 2019, 10:14:26 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 9, "Let's Split"
Film date: 2019-06-27 - 2019-06-28

The last pit stop was in the gardens of Grand Hotel Giessbach, Brienz Switzerland. For some reason production releases teams by a church in Meringen, 14km away. We only get to see the first three teams departing

1.Tyler & Korey    16:19
2.Chris & Bret     16:26(+0:07)
3.Colin & Christie 16:49(+0:30)
?.Becca & Floyd    ??:??(+?:??)
?.Nicole & Victor  ??:??(+?:??)
?.Leo & Jamal      ??:??(+?:??)

The first route info tells teams to fly to Split, Croatia. Once they land they must make their way to Kasjuni beach and find Zbirac bar. The clue also says that teams must purchase their flight from Zurich to Split at the Zurich airport.

So teams first make their way to the Meringen train station on foot.
 "Alright, lets split", Colin gets the title

The aerial shots we get of the tr-an station are actually from Grindelwald. And the shot with the label "1st Train to Zurich Airport" actually shows a train arriving in Grindelwald.

Teams end up on two different trains.

Train #1 carries:
  Tyler & Korey
  Chris & Bret

Train #2 carries:
  Nicole & Victor
  Becca & Floyd
  Leo & Jamal
  Colin & Christie

At least some of the teams use the train ride to research available flights so when they arrive at the airport they know which one they want to get. But here we actually get some old fashioned airport drama. Seats are limited so teams scramble for tickets.

Leo promises to name his daughter after one of the booking agents and his wife after the other, but to no avail. The flight is still full.

We also have a small altercation between Nicole & Victor and Becca & Floyd where they have different opinions about the lines. The former thinks there is one line for all ticket agents while the latter act as there is one line for each. In the end Becca & Floyd get to an agent first and Nicole & Victor get to one who is at the end of her shift so she leaves without helping them.

Nicole & Victor are out of luck as the flights the other teams are on are now full.
 "My heart is broken", Nicole
Eventually they get standby tickets on another flight, and they do get seats. So they go from arriving way behind the others to actually arriving just after the first two teams.

In the end teams end up on three different flights:

Flight #1 via Berlin was probably:
 LX960   ZRH-TXL  06:22 - 07:46
 EW8988  TXL-SPU  09:20 - 11:20
This flight carries:
  Tyler & Korey
  Chris & Bret

Flight #2 via Dusseldorf was probably:
  LX1016  ZRH-DUS  07:33 - 08:45
  EW9960  DUS-SPU  09:35 - 11:30
This flight carries:
  Nicole & Victor

Flight #3 via Hamburg was probably:
 LX1050  ZRH-HAM  07:25 - 08:46
 EW7984  HAM-SPU  12:01 - 13:56 (was supposed to land at 12:25_
This flight carries:
  Becca & Floyd
  Leo & Jamal
  Colin & Christie

Teams find their next clue at Caffe bar Zbirac (23km 28min) in the following order:
 1. Chris & Bret
 2. Tyler & Korey, after #1 has left
 3. Nicole & Victor
 4. Leo & Jamal
 5. Becca & Floyd
 6. Colin & Christie

Here teams must carry 6 drinks from the bar to local sunbathers on the beach. The sunbathers will then hand them a Travelocity gnome and they can go back to the bar and get their next clue. Nobody seems to have any problems with this task.

Then next clue tells teams to travel to the Marjan Cave Church. Here their gnome will have to deliver a loaf of bread to the monk for them to receive their next clue.

Teams get their clue from the church (7km 18min) in the following order:
 1(+0) Chris & Bret
 2(+0) Tyler & Korey, after #1 has left
 3(+0) Nicole & Victor, pass #2 on the way to the church
 4(+1) Becca & Floyd
 5(-1) Leo & Jamal, just after #4
 6(+0) Colin & Christie

Detour: Poetry in motion or Washed in from the ocean

In poetry in motion teams must ride in a flying tube (an inflatable raft being towed behind a speedboat) and while they try to hang one learn a poem. Once they get back to shore they must recite it word perfect to a poetry master.if they do any mistakes they must ride the tube again..

In washed in from the ocean teams must use snorkeling gear and a metal detector to find one goblet and five coins on the sea floor.

Both detours take place on Kasjuni beach (1km 3min).

At poetry in motion there are two flying tubes so if more teams are doing it they have to wait in line between the rides. The poem is a real tongue twister:
Quote
As we are rising towards the unknown,
Traveling with our friend,
The Roaming Gnome.
High in the sky,
Flying around.
By why?
The mystery of being tied to a rope,
Feeling like touristic folk.
Yet soaring like a bird.
During this flight or triviality,
Zooming over the municipality.
As we smoothly move along.
What could go wrong?
As we were told,
Once up there,
Never release the trigger
Set to hair.
It's only fair.
Amen.

On the other hand the treasure they need to find from the sea floor is almost impossible to find. It is actually so hard that nobody manages to complete that side of the detour.
 "The water is chilly", Chris as he wades into the water

 "We will be back with more drama and better lyrics", Victor after their first failed attempt at reciting poetry

Tyler & Korey start with the ocean detour, but after having been at it for a while without finding anything they switch.
 "Good news, we don't know the poem", Korey when they get to the poet the first time

Bret & Chris start with the snorkeling. After quite a while they have found 3 coins and a goblet. After not finding anything for a while they decide to switch and try the poetry. They make one attempt and realize it is hard so they switch back to the diving.

Colin & Christie are the last to arrive to the detour and they start with the ocean task.
 "We are definitely water people so this is definitely right up our alley and should be something we can make up good time on", Colin
After a while they ask Chris & Bret how it is going and get a reply that the guys have not found anything for two hours. When they hear this Colin & Christie immediately switch.
 "That is very helpful, thank you so much", Christie to Chris & Bret

A while after Colin & Christie have switched Chris & Bret realize their search for the last two coins is futile and they switch to the poetry detour for the second time, but this time they stick with it..

Leo & Jamal struggles with the poetry. Leo is saying one word wrong. Jamal tries to point this out to him but Leo does not want to listen.
 "You're saying the right here but not there", Jamal to Leo on the raft
 "Shut up, I'm over this dude", Leo

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+2) Nicole & Victor, poetry on their 7th attempt
 2(+0) Tyler & Korey, started ocean but switched to poetry which they got on their 4th attempt
 3(+1) Becca & Floyd, poetry on their 4 attempt
 4(+2) Colin & Christie, started ocean but switched to poetry which they got on their 4th attempt
 5(+0) Leo & Jamal, poetry on their 11 attempt
 6(-5) Chris & Bret, started ocean, switched to poetry, switched back to ocean and then finally back to poetry which they complete on their 10th attempt.

Route info: "Travel by taxi to the catacomb entrance of the Diocletain's Palace on the riva side and search for your next clue."

As Colin & Christie's taxi arrives at the catacombs they realize that they left their gnome in the changing rooms at the detour so they have to go back to fetch it. As Colin picks it up he realizes that Chris & Bret are still doing the detour.

Teams find the clue box by the catacombs (6km 14min) in the following order:
 1(+1) Tyler & Korey
 2(-1) Nicole & Victor
 3(+0) Becca & Floyd
 4(+1) Leo & Jamal
 5(-1) Colin & Christie
 6(+0) Chris & Bret

Road block: Who's ready to get their marching orders?

In this road block contestants must keep track of five soldiers wearing red ribbons on their helmets. These are part of a group of 18 soldiers. All the soldiers march in, then they switch places a bit like a shell game before covering themselves with their shields. Once they are covered the contestants must place markers on a board indicating which positions the five ribboned soldiers are occupying.

Korey arrives first and fails one time before Nicole comes in. He offers to work together, and so they do. Even though they work together they still need 7 attempts to complete the challenge.

Christie gets into the room after Leo has done at least one attempt. Leo asks her if she wants to work together with him. She agrees and they each focus on one half of the soldiers. This seems to be a winning strategy and they seem to get it on their next attempt.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Tyler & Korey*    (4-6)On his 8th attempt
2(+0)Nicole* & Victor  (5-5)On her 7th attempt, Just after #1
3(+0)Becca & Floyd*    (5-5)On his 1st shown attempt
4(+1)Colin & Christie* (5-5)On her first shown attempt
5(-1)Leo* & Jamal      (5-5)On his 2nd shown attempt, just after #4
6(+0)Chris & Bret*     (5-5)

The next clue tells teams to race to their next pit stop at Matejuska at Split Harbor. Teams must row there in a small dingy.

I know that rowing a boat is not something everybody gets to learn. But if you watch enough old seasons of the race you realize it is an useful skill on the race. Most of these teams do not possess this skill.

Tyler & Korey use the oars as paddles. Victor at least know how to row, but somebody forgot to tell him that the pointy end should be facing forward.

Phil is waiting at the mat accompanied by two ladies and 9 Dalmatians (a Croatian native breed). Teams arrive in the following order:
 1(+0) Tyler & Korey, win a trip to Mexico
 2(+0) Nicole & Victor
 3(+0) Becca & Floyd
 4(+0) Colin & Christie
 5(+0) Leo & Jamal
 6(+0) Chris & Bret, are eliminated

 "Our friendship's gonna last forever, this was just incredible", Chris
« Last Edit: June 24, 2019, 09:55:20 AM by maf »

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #10
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2019, 10:32:41 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 10, "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo"
Film date: 2019-06-29 - 2019-06-30

The last pit stop was in the harbor of Split, Croatia. This also seems to be where team are released in the following order:

1.Tyler & Korey    08:53
2.Nicole & Victor  08:55(+0:02)
3.Becca & Floyd    10:00(+1:07)
4.Colin & Christie 11:31(+2:38)
5.Leo & Jamal      11:35(+2:42)

Route info: "Fly to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. When you arrive travel by train to the town of Kampen."

In Kapmen teams must pick up tandem bicycles. The bicycles will become available at 09:00 the next morning.

Teams get $88 for this leg of the race.

First they must make their way to Riva Travel. Tyler & Korey jump into a taxi which takes them for a ride. The other teams spot it from the start and just walk over to it.

 "You'll be my little E.T. in the basket", Korey to Tyler about the upcoming tandem bicycles

Teams end up on three different flights:

Flight #1 is probably:
    QS1083  SPU-PRG  14:40 - 16:15
    KLM1358 PRG-AMS  18L30 - 20:05
It carries:
  Tyler & Korey
  Nicole & Victor

Flight #2 is probably:
    OS746   SPU-VIE  15:40 - 16:49
    KLM1848 VIE-AMS  19:50 - 21:34
It carries:
  Becca & Floyd

Flight #3 is probably:
  AZY7988  SPU-AMS  21:32 - 23:47 (this flight was delayed 6h)
It carries:
  Leo & Jamal
  Colin & Christie

Next time we see the teams is when they are released near the bikes the following morning. There is a guy holding a bunch of clues standing right before the bikes so each team grab a clue.

The clue tells them to ride their bikes to Jachthaven and once there search on foot to find their next clue.

Teams now find that riding tandem bicycles is hard. Specially since none seem to adjust the height some some of the shorter players can not reach the pedals.

Here we learn that today is Nicole's birthday and she hopes they can do well and not get eliminated.

We see that there are motorbikes for the camera persons.

There is something which does not fit here. The directions teams are shown to get are not to Jachthaven. My guess is that they went somewhere else first and possible did something there before going to Jachthaven. There seems to be a much simpler explanation for this which is that some teams got bad directions.

Teams find the clue at Jachtahevn (1.7km) in the following order:
 1. Nicole & Victor
 2. Colin & Christie
 3. Tyler & Korey
 4. Becca & Floyd
 5. Leo & Jamal

Detour: High or dry?

In high teams must first ride to a nearby field (2.3km) and carry a fake, but heavy, cow to a tractor. The tractor will then transport the cow to the local church (4.1km) where teams must hoist it to the top of the tower in less than 40 seconds.
 "The good news is that we're not going to be working with real cows", Christie

In dry they must ride to a nearby (3.6km) farm. There they must pole vault over a ditch, pick up two cheeses and a dozen eggs. Then pole vault back and transport their goods to the market (5.4km). Everything must be delivered unbroken. Teams get a small sack in which to carry their eggs.

At the jump over the ditch there turns out to be a panel of judges which tell you if you did it the dutch way (approved) or not. Nicole has to do 10 attempts before she is approved. Victor does it on his first but then we learn that he has pole vaulted before.
 "I have some cajones", Victor after butting the big balls of cheese in his pockets
Victor & Nicole are smart and check their eggs after pole vaulting with them to see that they are unbroken before riding into town.

Becca & Floyd have trouble finding the cows.
 "Either we're going the right way and it's awesome or we're going the wrong way", Becca (and they are going the long way)

At the bell tower there is room for two teams to do the hoisting so Leo & Jamal, who arrive as #3 have to wait. Once the cow has been hoisted one team member must make their way to the top of the tower to pick up their next clue. The only team failing the 40s time limit is Nicole & Victor, but they manage it with 1 second to spare on their second attempt.
 "Is there an easier way down?", Nicole asks the clue give at the top of the tower, and no there is not

Becca & Floyd does not have any problems with the ditch vaulting, but they do not check their eggs afterwards. Which turns out to be a mistake because the vendor at the market refuses to accept one of them since it is cracked.
 "I want to throw that in your face right now", Becca when the vendor refuses one of the eggs
They have to go back and get another egg. This takes about 30 minutes.
 "Next time we're gonna check them before we leave, like not stupid people", Becca
And the next time they also pick up an extra egg. Or do they? It seems as if they hand both of the eggs over so maybe they had two cracked eggs.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+2) Tyler & Korey, high
 2(+0) Colin & Christie, high
 3(+2) Leo & Jamal, high
 4(-3) Nicole & Victor, dry
 5(-1) Becca & Floyd, high
 4(+0) Nicole & Victor, high
 5(+0) Becca & Floyd, dry

The next clue tells teams to ride their bikes along the Ijselkade and search for their next clue. It also warns that there is a double U-turn ahead.

Teams reach the U-turn board in the following order:
 1(+1) Colin & Christie
 2(-1) Tyler & Korey, just after #1
 3(+0) Leo & Jamal, U-turns Nicole & Victor
 4(+0) Nicole & Victor, U-turns Becca & Floyd
 5(+0) Becca & Floyd

Leo & Jamal's U-turn is a revenge for Victor & Nicole voting for them in the U-turn vote i Switzerland. Nicole & Victor U-turn the only team they think is behind them.
 "We are far behind, that is the reality of it right now", Becca after being U-turned

The clue here tells teams to return the bikes and pick up a car and drive themselves to Smit Giethoorn boat rental and canal cruises.

 "Sorry, not sorry. Happy birthday Nicole", Jamal when they drive past Nicole & Victor

Tyler & Korey try to follow Colin & Christie, but loose them and then they have trouble finding the place.
 "Please let there be three clues in there", Korey when they finally find the clue box
 
Teams reach the clue box at Smit Giethoorn (35km) in the following order:
 1(+0) Colin & Christie
 2(+1) Leo & Jamal
 3(-1) Tyler & Korey
 4(+0) Nicole & Victor
 5(+0) Becca & Floyd

This clue tells teams to race by boat train to their next pit stop. They must pick up a boat and search the canals of Smit Giethoorn to find two other marked boats which they must attach to form a boat train. Once they have two other boats they can make their way to the pit stop which is on an island in the Bovenwijde lake just outside the village.

This village has a large canal system, and lots of them are one-way. So finding the boats to attach is harder than it sounds. And since it is a beautiful day there are lots of people boating on the narrow canals.

Leo & Jamal miss one of the boats so when they get to the lake they have to go back and search again. Of course they try to enter the canals via an one-way exit only canal. When they try to turn around their engine stops. After a while a friendly local help them to remove the rope which has tangled itself into the propeller.

Meanwhile Tyler & Korey are also having trouble navigating.
 "Hey, guys, are you idiots or something like that?", a local to Tyler & Korey
 "I don't mean to be", Tyler responds

As usual the editors tries to make the fight for last look tight. Becca & Floyd seem to fly through the task while Victor & Nicole struggle. In the end there was apparently about 15 minutes separation between them.

 "Alright, Chugga Chugga Choo Choo to the pit stop", Becca gets the title when they found the second boat

Teams reach Phil at the mat in the following order:
 1(+0) Colin & Christie, win $7,500 each
 2(+1) Tyler & Korey
 3(-1) Leo & Jamal
 4(+0) Nicole & Victor
 5(+0) Becca & Floyd, are eliminated

There is a pit stop greeter but we do not get a close look at him. But chances are good that it was Bertram himself. Becca & Floyd later confirmed this in a podcast, the greeter was indeed Bertram.

At the mat Phil is messing with Tyler & Korey. He asks which position they think they are in and when they say #3 he says that is extremely optimistic, before cracking up and telling them they are #2.

 "Floyd and I are some of the luckiest people in the word that we got to live our dream, like not just our dream but like our delusional child hod dream, twice", Becca
« Last Edit: June 24, 2019, 09:45:50 AM by maf »

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #10 is on page #1
« Reply #15 on: June 24, 2019, 09:57:11 AM »
I have updated the flight information for leg #9 after more data from Claude.

I have also updated leg #10. There was no missing task after they picked up their bikes, just teams getting bad directions. And the greeter was indeed Bertram himself. All according to Team Fun on Racers Recap.

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #11
« Reply #16 on: July 05, 2019, 01:00:37 PM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 11, "This One is For One Million Dollars"
Film date: 2019-07-01 - 2019-07-02

The last pit stop was at Smit Giethoorn, The Netherlands. Teams seem to depart from De Koperen Hoogte, 27km away, in the following order:
1.Colin & Christie 22:13
2.Tyler & Korey    23:35(+1:22)
3.Leo & Jamal      01:20(+3:07)
4.Nicole & Victor  01:55(+3:42)

Route info: "Fly to London, England".
The next clue can be found at the Gatwick aviation museum.

Even though they are far ahead, Colin & Christie wait for Tyler & Korey and they share a van for the airport.

At the airport Nicole & Victor pass Leo & Jamal but refuse to even look at them. They are still upset about the U-turn in the last leg.

Teams go to a marked counter to get their tickets so I assume they were prexarranged. Anyway the are all on the same flight:
 U2 8868  AMS-LGWv 07:45 - 08:09


Once in Gatwick teams run out trying to find taxis. But at Gatwick it is illegal for taxis to just pick up passengers. Instead they must be ordered from a taxi booth. Teams figure this out in the following order:
 1. Leo & Jamal
 2. Nicole & Victor
 3. Tyler & Korey
 4. Colin & Christie

Teams find the clue box at the Gatwick aviation museum (6min away) in the following order:
 1(+0) Leo & Jamal
 2(+0) Nicole & Victor
 3(+1) Colin & Christie
 4(-1) Tyler & Korey

Here they find that they will take a helicopter ride over the English countryside to Dover castle. The flight is gorgeous, they do fly along the white cliffs of Dover and the view is stunning.

When teams land they spot a military jeep and that is where they get their next clue.

Road block: Who can't keep a secret?

The players are led to the castle and a decoding room. Here they find instructions. They must listen to a speech by Neville Chamberlain, take the 15th, 30th and 4th word of the speech and use these as start of their decoding process. The words are "faith", "prevail" and "evil". Then they had to do a number of confusing transformation which eventually should lead them to the message: "The Dunkirk evacuation has begin we will never surrender". They must type this out on an old typewriter and present the printout to an officer.

As Tyler & Korey arrive Colin tells them it is a deciphering challenge before they open the clue.

Leo leaves as Christie and Victor arrive. There is a lot of cooperation between the trailing teams. Korey & Christie work together but once Korey is out of the room Christie works with Victor.

Korey and Christie struggle but after a while Korey spots their mistake he tries to quickly tell Christie but he does not stay to help her. She seems to be too frazzled to really hear what he is saying.
 "I told her how to do it as I was leaving, I think she's got it", Korey to Colin when he gets back

But Christie did not get it. She got a jumbled message which she gave to the officer.
 "But, this is utter gibberish, do it again", The officer to Christie
The telecast did not show the officer crumpling up the paper and throwing it at Christie. The stress level is extremely high as she tries to solve the code by herself. Meanwhile Colin is trying to send her love from the place where he is waiting. Eventually she starts over from the beginning.
 "I hope this is good, I got called away from my lunch for this", The officer about to check her message
This time she got it, but they are about an hour and a half after the 3rd place team.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+0)Leo* & Jamal      (6-5)
2(+0)Nicole & Victor*  (5-6)~ 6min after #1
3(+1)Tyler & Korey*    (5-6)~ 13min after #1
4(-1)Colin & Christie* (5-6)~ 1h47min after #1

The clue tells them to fly in their helicopter to London. The next clue is on a pier near where they land.

For Colin & Christie the helicopter ride is a godsend because it gives them time to calm down and get back into a focused race state.

It is hard to miss the clue on the pier so there is no change in order here.

Route info "Travel the river Thames by speedboat to Sawoy pier". From there they must make their way to Picadilly circus where they must find the golden queen to get their next clue. The golden queen turns out to be one of those living statue people. Teams find her in the following order:
 1(+0) Leo & Jamal
 2(+0) Nicole & Victor
 3(+0) Tyler & Korey, shortly after #2
 4(+0) Colin & Christie, way behind the others

Detour: Know or Row

In know teams must make their way to the Cabmens shelter just off Kensington Gardens (~20min by taxi). Here they must jump into a cab and memorize the route, one turn at a time. The driver will call out all the 15 turns and along the way 7 points of interest. Once they get back they must recite the route and the landmarks to the judge. If they fail they have to go again.

In row teams must get to Hyde park (~20min by taxi) where teams must learn how to row a two person skiff. That is the type of boat they are using for rowing in the Olympic games. They must complete a 200m course in one minute or less.

The steps they have to memorize in the cab ride are:
  • Right on Kensington road
  • Baglioni hotel on the left
  • Left on De Vere gardens
  • Left on Canning place
  • Right to Gloucester road
  • On the left, The Montana hotel
  • On the right Gloucester road underground station
  • Right, Courtfield road
  • Forward, Courtfield gardens
  • Left, Collingham road
  • Left, Harrington Gardens
  • On the right, the Bentley hotel
  • Forward, Stanhope gardens
  • Forward Harrington road
  • Left Cromwell Road
  • Right, Thurloe place
  • Left Exhibition road
  • On the right Victoria & Albert Museum
  • On the left, Ernest Shackleton statue
  • Left Kensington gore
  • On the left, the Royal Geographical Society
  • On the left, Royal Albert Hall
The entire ride takes about 15-20 minutes.

All teams initially go for row. Once in their boats they realize that the boats are very narrow and unstable. Leo is afraid of water so they immediately decide to switch. It seems they switch before the next team arrives to the boats. They hope they can do the know side quickly but are stunned by the amount of directions the driver is spouting. After their first trip they are only able to recite the first step of 22.

The other teams also struggle with the boats.
 "I was not ready for a boat that I actually had to stabilize with my core", Victor

When Colin & Christie arrives to the boats Tyler & Korey and Nicole & Victor have been there for approximately 1.5h. They both soon decide to switch.
 "What we thought was gonna be a brute strength challenge turned out being a lot of coordination and trying to work together which we had a little bit of trouble with". Tyler about the rowing

Colin & Christie is the only team to complete the boat side of the detour. And they do that by breaking the challenge. Colin asks pointed questions of their instructor and learns that she could probably do the course in about 35 seconds. So he figures he could do it alone in 60. They then ask the starter and learn that they are allowed to do a flying start, which also helps a lot. So Colin rows and Christie holds her oars out of the water and tries to stabilize the boat. Even with all those tricks they beat the maximum time with 1 second so it was close.

Teams complete the detour in the following order:
 1(+0) Leo & Jamal, started row but switched to know which they got on their 5th attempt
 2(+1) Tyler & Korey, started row but switched to know which they got on their 3rd attempt
 3(+1) Colin & Christie, row
 4(-2) Nicole & Victor, started row but switched to know which they got on their 4th attempt

Route info: Race to your next pit stop at Camden stables and market and search for Phil.

In the taxi from the Detour Tyler comforts Korey
 "You were soo good at that", Tyler
I realize that they do not know that Nicole & Victor also switched so they are convinced that they are last and headed for elimination.

Teams reach Phil at Camden market in the following order:
 1(+0) Leo & Jamal
 2(+0) Tyler & Korey
 3(+0) Colin & Christie
 4(+0) Nicole & Victor

 "Before I can check you in you have a few items to pick up around the market", Phil
Teams find the pit stop but Phil gives them a new clue and tells them they have to complete a task before he can check them in. The task is to pick up a number of odd things from around the market and arrange a display with a mannequin and their stuff sitting on a trunk by the pit stop. There is a finished example they can look at.

The things they need to find are:
 Trunk with mannequin
 Lamp
 Drum
 Corset
 Rug
 Camera
 Boots (purple with high heels)
 Tea kettle

All the things they are supposed to bring are tagged with red and yellow labels, but they are spread out among the different shops in the pretty large and confusing market.

All teams get to this task before any of them has completed it. So we have all four teams working the last task simultaneously to decide who is going to the final.

The hardest item to find seem to be the purple high heel boots. They can be found on the lower floor of the Cyberdog store.

Tyler & Korey help Colin & Christie by telling where they found some of the items.

Teams complete this task in the following order:
 1(+0) Leo & Jamal
 2(+0) Tyler & Korey
 3(+0) Colin & Christie
 4(+0) Nicole & Victor, are eliminated

Nicole & Victor did not get to finish the task. It seems they had only found the trunk and the corset when Colin & Christie checked in and production sent them straight to Phil who eliminated them on the spot.

 "It was the awesomest experience and I think we are stronger now", Nicole

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Re: Racing report season 31, episode #12
« Reply #17 on: July 07, 2019, 03:39:27 AM »
Racing report
Amazing Race Season 31, Episode 12, "This One is For One Million Dollars"
Film date: 2019-07-03

The last pit stop was at Camden Market and that also seems to be where teams are released the next day. They are released in the following order:
1.Leo & Jamal      03:53)
2.Tyler & Korey    04:13(+0:20)
3.Colin & Christie 04:29(+0:36)

Route info: Fly to Detroit, Michigan.

Once they land teams must travel by taxi to "The Spirit of Detroit".

 "We hold the record for most detours most road blocks, most legs completed. Like we're the kings of the Amazing Race", Leo conveniently forgets the most wins
 "Last time we had youth on our side, this time we have wisdom", Colin

All teams are on the same flight. Probably:
  DL17  LHR-DTW  10:29 - 13:53

Once they land teams rush into taxis. It seems they are instructed to keep their taxis all day.

They reach the Spirit of Detroit (~25min) in the following order:
 1. Leo & Jamal
 2. Tyler & Korey
 3. Colin & Christie

Road block: Who's good with numbers?

In this road block contestants must perform a face forward rappel 500ft down the Guardian building. On the way down they must look for numbers on the windows. These numbers make up the combination they need to open a massive bank vault which holds their next clue.

 "I'm super scared of heights, which makes things like this really fun", Colin as he is being rigged
 
The numbers are: 07, 24, 17, 01

Players do not seem to have anything to do with the actual speed of descent. I get a feeling that it is the staff at the top who keep lowering them at a constant rate as long as they seem to be stable.

Once they reach the ground they must make their way into the basement where each player get a bank vault to open. There are instructions on the wall:
  • Spin the top dial at least 5 times counter-clockwise to the first number
  • Spin the top dial clockwise and land on the second number on the 4th rotation
  • Spin the top dial counter-clockwise and land on the third number on the 3rd rotation.
  • Spin the top dial clockwise and land on the forth number on the 2nd rotation
  • Spin the top dial counter-clockwise until it stops.
  • If the top dial does not stop you have entered the numbers incorrectly and should start at step 1.
  • If the top dial stop, the dial sequence is complete. Firmly pull the black lever up, clockwise until it stops at 45 degrees.
  • Spin the center wheel counter-clockwise until it stops.
  • Pull the black handle to open the vault slowly. Do not let it slam into the wall.

Colin takes his time and reads the instructions carefully, which pays off since he manages to open his safe on his first try. Tyler also gets it fairly quickly. Poor Leo is however stuck, the dial does not stop in step 5. According to the highlighting on the screen he does not stop on the first number in the first step.

Leo gets really stuck on this task. So much that from now on the rest of the episode is a two team race.

Teams complete this road block in the following order (* denotes team member doing the roadblock):
1(+2)Colin* & Christie (6-6)
2(+0)Tyler* & Korey    (6-6)
3(-2)Leo* & Jamal      (7-5)

Route info: "Play two rounds of Fowling"

Teams must now make their way to the Fowling Warehouse (~10min) in Hamtrack. The game of Fowling was invented in 2001 and is a combination of bowling and football. That is you must knock over your pins with a football from a distance away.

But first teams must find their taxis. Two taxis are waiting by the challenge but Colin & Christie's is nowhere to be seen. This is bad since their bag is in the taxi and the additional information told them to keep their taxi for the whole day. Colin & Christie are getting desperate and we almost see the old Colin pop out. They ask one of the other drivers to call their guy and manage to meet up with him. But this while taxi thing costs them about 10 minutes.
 "Taxi karma, where are you now", Colin seems to be about to loose it

Teams arrive at the Fowling warehouse in the following order:
 1(+1) Tyler & Korey
 2(-1) Colin & Christie
 3(+0) Leo & Jamal

Each team get two sets of bowling pins and each member stand behind one of them and throws at the set in front of the other player. Girls, that is Christie, gets to stand a little close when throwing the ball. It seems to be enough that one of the player knows down all of their pins for the team to pass.
 "Couple of jocks being bros with a football", Korey

Teams complete this task in the following order:
 1(+0) Tyler & Korey
 2(+0) Colin & Christie
 3(+0) Leo & Jamal

The next clue sends teams to Third man Records (~10min). Here teams must press five perfect two-tone records to get their next clue. They have an instructor showing them how to do it and then it is just a matter of cranking them out. Teams soon learn that the judges can be picky about which records they approve, the two colors may not bleed into each other too much and the labels must be attached correctly.

 "Where are Leo & Jamal?", Korey wonders (and the answer is that Leo is still stuck on the safe)

Teams complete this task in the following order:
 1(+1) Colin & Christie
 2(-1) Tyler & Korey
 3(+0) Leo & Jamal

Route info: "Travel by taxi to Hart Plaza, once there search among the musicians for your next clue."

The Plaza task was originally means to take place in a nature reserve but the permit was withdrawn a couple of days before shooting so production had to scramble to come up with something quick, hence the quite public task.

Teams reach the plaza (~8min) in the same order they left Third Man Records. Here they find about a hundred musicians all blasting away on Seven Nation Army. In midst of them are four dismantled drum kits with clues on them.

The task for each team is to assemble a five piece drum kit from scratch. There is an example they can look at to make it easier. The catch is that the judge is pretty strict and the musicians around them are blasting out Seven Nation Army constantly so the environment is incredibly loud. It is so loud that the team members have a hard time hearing each other.

 "Both of my brothers play the drums, I've seen them do this a hundred times", Korey
 "You could barely hear yourself think", Tyler

Colin & Christie have a head start and seem to be the first ones to get their assembled kit checked.
 "No. Sorry, guys. It's not correct.",  a phrase form the judge they will hear a lot

After a while Tyler & Korey also think they are finished and start getting told their kit is not correct. So we now have a very exciting moment where either team could spot what their mistake is and get approved.

But this is hard, teams spend lot of time fine tuning the positioning of the parts in their set, but that is probably not the issue. For Colin & Christie it is the strainer lever which is in the wrong position and Tyler & Korey have forgotten a washer and have tightened they screws holding the cymbals too hard. It is easy for us as viewers to see these details as the cameras focus in on them, but is a completely different thing for the very stressed racers in that loud environment.
 "There is some detail that we're missing, I think.", Christie
 "This is attention to detail, which we thrive at", Tyler

The most valuable player award in this task goes to Christie who, when they are frantically looking for their mistake she manages to calm Colin down.
 "You have to be to breathe and take it in for them to talk to you telepathically. Do you understand?", Christie
Telepathic communication with the drum kit or not, in any way this interlude allows Colin to look at the kit with fresh eyes and he immediately spots the lever they need to switch.

Tyler & Korey's remaining problem is that they have screwed their cymbals on too tight. The editing makes seem like they fix this just after Colin & Christie has left. In reality they are at least 20-30 minutes behind.

Apparently Leo & Jamal arrived at the drum task about 10 minutes after Tyler & Korey left.

Teams complete this task in the following order:
 1(+0) Colin & Christie
 2(+0) Tyler & Korey
 3(+0) Leo & Jamal

Route info: "Finally, this is it, the finish line! Travel by taxi to Fort Wayne and find Phil and the finish line on the grounds of the old fort. Go, go, go!"

 "We have eggs, we do not yet have chickens, so we're not gonna count them yet", Colin in the taxi

Teams reach the finish line (~15 min away by taxi) in the following order:
 1(+0) Colin & Christie, win the $1,000,000
 2(+0) Tyler & Korey
 3(+0) Leo & Jamal

 "10 countries, 18 cities and more than 25,000 miles", Phil to the winners

The latter part of the race were so exciting that we even forgot that Leo & Jamal are also in it. After the first two teams have finished we get a small montage showing them do the tasks, but they are way behind the others.

Colin & Christie are glad that they won  and thus proved that their new improved self's are still as competitive and even more successful than the old versions.
 "I'm so proud of you", Colin & Christie about each other