‘Beep beep – that’s international language’ :(

I was on the edge of my seat during the first half of last night’s episode of The Amazing Race, all because of Gary and Mallory’s Speed Bump. Would they be able to overcome it or would the final moments of the show be very painful to watch? Turns out, we can have both.

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To measure a country

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After checking out their 2012 Ford Focuses, Zev and Justin left off for the tiny country of Liechtenstein, where the Oompa Loompas live. Well, not really, but the country is only one fifth of New York – pretty small.

Everybody caught the same train and arrived at the Roadblock around the same time. Everybody except Gary and Mallory – they chose one of the two worst cab drivers in the country. On top of that, their Speed Bump occurred right before the Roadblock. Still, I thought that would give them plenty of time to catch up.

For their Speed Bump, Gary and Mallory had to prepare the right mixture of gas and oil to power a motorized bicycle – a solex. Now, just because the task wasn’t to build up a replica of the Eiffel Tower, that doesn’t mean it was easy. I, for one, would have figured out the right combination after about four hours. Fortunately, Captain America and his adorable companion are smarter than I am. They quickly figured it out and went on to perform the Roadblock.

The Roadblock required one member to ride a solex and measure the entire length of Liechtenstein.  A few people managed to get lost on the way: Vyxsin was one. I really wonder why she volunteered to do the task, since a few legs ago she almost got her team eliminated by not being able to read a map. Jen also had some troubles – she lost her map. The other ones were Flight Time and Jet. The difference between them was Justin told Flight Time what the answer was -22 km- and so he was then able to complete the task. Jet, however, got it wrong the first time, after briefly working with Gary. This meant he had to do it all over again. All the other teams finished before him and got on trains to Zermatt, Switzerland.

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Pot of cheese

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The next clue waited at the train station and it was the Detour. In Calcutta, teams had to transport books. In Varanasi, they delivered hay while last leg they moved a huge couch. I actually couldn’t believe it when I saw that the ‘Wheeze’ part of the Detour required to transport 20 pieces of luggage to five hotels. Why are there so many similar tasks?  For the other side of the Detour, ‘Cheese’, teams had to eat a huge quantity of cheese fondue.

Also, a Double U-Turn was to be found at the end of the Detour. That was a little unfair. Since there were no other tasks after the Detour, whoever got U-Turned had no chance whatsoever of catching up.

Zev and Justin and the Sisters arrived first and they both initially chose to eat the cheese. A surprising decision, since neither of them did well with last leg’s food eating challenge. Upon tasting the fondue, though, Kisha and Jen decided to change Detours and went for the luggage. Zev and Justin decided to stick with the cheese.

I don’t know what that fondue tasted like, but it sure didn’t look very appetizing. Justin didn’t like it either, the only reason he stuck with it was for his teammate. As Gary and Mallory, the Goths and the Globes arrived at the train station and all opted to carry the luggage, Justin took a break to puke. I was really afraid he won’t make it, forcing the team to switch, but eventually they finished the task. They then took an electric cab to the Pit Stop, for their fourth first place finish. Soon after, Jen and Kisha checked in second – their best placement so far. I really like the sisters; they ran a quiet, but strong Race and definitely deserve to be in the Final Three.

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Moaning and crying: A sequel.

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Meanwhile, the Cowboys finally arrived in Zermatt and made up quite a lot of time. The third team to finish the Detour (and ultimately arrive at the Pit Stop) was, sadly, Kent and Vyxsin. This week, believe it or not, Kent hit an all time low. Complaining, moaning and crying aside, he actually asked Vyxsin to carry him in the cart they use to transport the luggage. Not to mention he didn’t help at all during the Detour. In fact, what did he do this entire Race? Besides, the only reason they didn’t U-Turn anyone was because they couldn’t, having already used theirs on the Cheerleaders. (Side note: I still miss them.)

Gary and Mallory arrived at the Pit Stop in fourth, where Mallory made Phil, the pit stop lady and I laugh. I’m glad they’re still in it.

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Oh, my gravy!

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This was the last leg for the Cowboys.

This left The Globes and The Cowboys to battle it out for the last place. The Globes made a mistake and lost two of their tickets, which meant they had to transport two extra pieces of luggage. Still, they arrived at the Double U-Turn first. Being the second to last team, what they did was a no-brainer: they U-Turned Jet and Cord.

I knew this was coming ever since the Cowboys went for the luggage, because the clips at the end of last week’s episode showed them eating cheese. I don’t blame Flight Time and Big Easy at all, they had to do it. Still, that didn’t make watching Jet and Cord being eliminated easier.

I know they made a lot of mistakes this time around and didn’t seem much focused at times. But they’re the Cowboys. I can’t help but like them. They were my pick for the Final Three from day one and I’ll miss them.