Amazing Race Tidbits
CBS' The Amazing Race 14th Edition
Airport Shuffle
Teams drove to Zurich airport for the flight to Munich. They had the choice of a Swiss Air flight at 7:10 AM or a Lufthansa flight at 8:45 AM. Only Margie and Luke were able to acquire Swiss tickets at the airport without first calling ahead. Mark and Michael did not call ahead and wound up on the second flight. They fell just that quickly to ninth. The flight attendants are so late that they were forced to take the second flight.
Teams arrived in Munich and took marked cars to the town of Ruhpolding, where they had to buy cable car tickets to get to the top of the mountain.
Teaser: Who's ready to fly like an eagle?
From the website: One team member had to choose an instructor and, in tandem, paraglide off the mountain to the ground 6,000 feet below. The other teammate had to ride the gondola back down the mountain and wait for their partner in the designated landing area. In the event of unsafe wind conditions, teams could wait an undetermined amount of time for conditions to improve or choose a 60-minute hike down the mountain.
Only Mel was patient enough to wait for the winds to calm. But, every other Racer at the top departed on the downhill hike rather than wait. The trick was hiking the marked path down, with an estimated time of 60 minutes. It was OK as long as the hiker spotted the low-lying red arrows along the path. By the time the winds calmed, Mel began to regret his gamble.
Episode Two Roadblock |
||
|---|---|---|
Team |
Member |
Result |
| Amanda and Kris | Kris | Third down the mountain |
| Brad and Victoria | Victoria | Fourth down the mountain |
| Cara and Jaime | Jaime | Came down the mountain on foot |
| Christie and Jodi | Jodi | Came down the mountain on foot |
| LaKisha and Jennifer | Jennifer | Came down the mountain on foot |
| Linda and Steve | Linda | Once it became evident that she would not fly, Steve became concerned because Linda is not good with directions. Linda got seriously lost getting down the mountain, going to the right at one point, missing the arrow pointing left. Eventually she did catch a ride with a German woman to the cable car station. This long delay put them in last place. |
| Margie and Luke | Luke | Second to run down the mountain |
| Mark and Michael | Michael | Came down the mountain on foot. |
| Mel and Mike | Mel | A groin injury carrying the cheese in the previous leg meant he had to try to fly. Mel was the only one to fly in tandem with his instructor, but he had to wait so long for the wind conditions to be right that he dropped to fifth. |
| Tammy and Victor | Tammy | First to run down the mountain. She knew right away that she had to go fast. |
Balancing Dolly From the website: Teams had to ride a Segway transporter along a 2-mile obstacle course.
Phil: Teams that mastered the unusual device could find themselves scooting ahead.
Austrian Folly From the website: Teams had to enter a party tent and throw traditional Austrian pies at a target. What they didn�t know was that the target was their partner�s face. They had to smack each other in the face with pies until they found one with cherry filling.
From the clue: When you see the red cherry filling, the maestro will hand you your next clue.
Episode Two Detour |
||
|---|---|---|
Members |
Option |
Notes |
| Amanda and Kris | Austrian Folly | Not so bad to hold third. |
| Brad and Victoria | Austrian Folly | Lucky not to have taken too long with the pies, just losing a bit of ground to the quick Mel and Mike. |
| Cara and Jaime | Balancing Dolly | OK |
| Christie and Jodi | Austrian Folly | Next to last to arrive, they kept their margin over trailing Linda and Steve. |
| LaKisha and Jennifer | Balancing Dolly | Did OK with it |
| Linda and Steve | Austrian Folly | They had a chance to let out their frustrations with the pie throwing and still be within hailing distance of the flight attendants. |
| Margie and Luke | Austrian Folly | Luke warned that the pies would take a long time, but Margie was adamant that she could not do well with the Segway. Luke's fears were completely realized as they took the longest time of all the teams doing the pies. |
| Mark and Michael | Balancing Dolly | They did this quickly! |
| Mel and Mike | 4 | They did well enough to pass Brad and Victoria. |
| Tammy and Victor | Austrian Folly | Lucky enough to get the cherry filling in just a few throws. |
From the website: Teams had to make their way on foot to the Holzs�ger booth in the village, find the mechanical Tyrolean woodcutters, and have them cut a small piece of wood. Once the teams had the wooden disc, they would have had it stamped with their next clue.
The key was that Holzs�ger apparently means woodcutter or sawyer in German. The ONLY team to have difficulty with this was Christie and Jodi. Somehow, they managed to not quite get the clue. They wandered around the Detour site, collecting a piece of wood from a barn, practically until Steve and Linda finished. After too long a time, they asked in German, where the Holzs�ger was. They said they have to not take clues too literally.
Schloss Hellbrunn, Salzburg, Austria was hard to find for some teams once they reached Salzburg. It cost Amanda and Kris a place. It was especially hard for LaKisha and Jennifer to find..
Episode Two Order of Finish |
|
|---|---|
Members |
Place |
| Amanda and Kris | 3 |
| Brad and Victoria | 5 |
| Cara and Jaime | 6 |
| Christie and Jodi | 9 |
| LaKisha and Jennifer | 8 |
| Linda and Steve | 10 |
| Margie and Luke | 4 |
| Mark and Michael | 7 |
| Mel and Mike | 2 |
| Tammy and Victor | 1 |
Phil asked Christie and Jodi about cutting it close at the Pit Stops. Twice, they had narrowly avoided elimination by so little a margin as outrunning a team to the mat. It was especially sad for Steve and Linda. Phil told Steve he had nothing to be sorry for.
Outlook for Episode Three
The nine remaining teams have diverse backgrounds and relationships. Each of the teams has a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses. Some Racers are not as physically fit as others, and it shows already. Others have quite a bit of intelligence, while others are creative.
Tammy and Victor made few mistakes throughout this long day of competition. Margie and Luke struggled just a bit in the Detour, but made few other mistakes. Mell and Mike made up a lot of ground. These three teams appear tough to beat. Brad and Victoria also had a solid run. Mark and Michael probably learned a huge lesson when they failed to book the flight to Munich ahead. They had to really hustle to gain back two places, which makes them a team to watch. The bottom teams of Kisha and Jen and Christie and Jodi are vulnerable. The preview shows Kris and Amanda losing the valuables bag. One key for next episode will be whether this otherwise strong team will find it.
WIll Amanda and Kris be stranded? Watch the exciting Episode Three on March 1, at 8:00 PM.
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