The Amazing Race -- All-Purpose Thread

OMG I wish I could ride that cute lil train though!!

Yes. I think some absolutely have no clue what the Queen looks like. Also was DYING at the Boris Johnson actor in the bike helmet.

 

I noticed there was no greeter with Phil at the mat ("Welcome to ... ").

I don't think they had begun phasing that out in the most recent season.

 

I wondered about that, but figured, "Nah, they couldn't possibly not realize that it wasn't actually her..." Although that person did look kind of like they could be related...

 

How. Just how. Are we THIRTY THREE SEASONS INTO THIS and people still come on this race not knowing how to drive a stick shift?!?!?!?!?! And my girl has NEVER DRIVING A CAR?! WHAT? (I will say I can understand the difficulty of trying to drive a manual transmission on the wrong side of the road.)

OMG Arun and Natalia made me cry. I would also have done the singing detour, but I also did musical theater for years. I'm not sure what was so complicated (unless it was just brainfog because they hadn't been able to stop AT ALL between the last London leg and the Glasgow leg, except on the train) to make Arun just not be able to comprehend the barrel detour.

Pool update:
Pilot - Ryan & Dusty | 39
WolvEagle - Kim & Penn | 34
WriteThinking - Anthony & Spencer | 33
Raquel & Cayla | 21
Huggy - Connie & Sam | 21
Wenders - Caro & Ray | 18
*MTM - Arun & Natalia | 12
TigerVols - Akbar & Sheri | 11
bumpy mcgee - Taylor & Isaiah | 9
nietsroob17 - Lulu & Lala | 7
*Michael & Moe | 1

*Team has been eliminated

Ok, so thanks to the "unprecedented times"...

Teams we for sure saw when we resumed:

• Ryan & Dusty
• Kim & Penn
• Raquel & Cayla
• Lulu & Lala
• Akbar & Sheri

reddit thinks that these were the teams unable to return when they resumed the Race:

• Caro & Ray (they broke up, I am SHOCKED I TELL YOU)
• Anthony & Spencer (rumor has it one of them was injured, which is sad because I was starting to like them)
• Connie & Sam (who were having a baby)
• Taylor & Isaiah (supposedly dropped out after a family member passed from COVID right before the Race resumed)

The two eliminated teams may return? IDK. We'll find out next week. After which, I'm gonna swill some bourbon and figure out wtf to do with the pool. If the two eliminated teams return, MTM and bumpy will keep their original teams.

FYI, Raquel & Cayla also still do not have a SJ'er assigned to them. If there are multiple teams and SJers who need to be reassigned, I'll run a randomizer.

Join us next week!

 

When I saw that not everyone was returning, I wondered what would happen with the pool. Sorry for the headache, Wenders.

If there's someplace (or someplaces?) internationally I'd like to visit someday, it'd be England, Scotland and Ireland.

When the bagpipe band was playing in that room, that must have been incredibly loud. When I saw one play outdoors a few years ago, that was really loud.

With my team, I'm not surprised Ryan and Penn chose the theater challenge. I saw their Christmas pajama YouTube video years ago. I was thinking that Ryan reminded me of someone - Stewart Copeland (I saw The Police in concert twice). They're tall, gangly and have a goofy, endearing sense of humor.

 

I've never driven a car either (I have no depth perception) but I am also not going on Amazing Race! (My wife can drive a stick!)

My father was from Glasgow and I've only heard "Donald, Where's Your Troosers?" and "Scotland the Brave" (the bagpipe song) about a million times in my life! We've twice cancelled trips to Scotland because of the pandemic but this episode really makes me want to get there ASAP.

 

The bagpipe scene was especially on point because I had just watched the bagpipe player walk up 18 after I had finished a round at Spanish Bay that afternoon (one of best golf traditions around)

 

'Tis ok. Work's kinda boring right now (it's my off-season as an event planner) so I need a good challenge to work the mind. LOL

Having lived in wide open spaces with no public transit, no cabs, poor places to bike, etc, having never driven a car does not compute. And thanks to Kansas' unrestrictive driving laws, I've been legally driving a car since I was 14.

One branch of the family tree immigrated to the US from Scotland, so I'd also love to travel and visit. I have a bunch of the Stewart tartan as well.

 

Scotland, so far, is my favorite place in the world. Seriously.

I travel a bit, love it, and have posted a little about Scotland on here before. I consider the lack of/inability to travel to have been the hardest/worst part of the past two years of COVID-restricted life. Watching this week's episode only made me want to go back to Scotland again. I would happily do so.

As for the driving, my second car was a stick-shift vehicle, and I got to like having it. It was kind of fun to drive, except in heavy traffic. But I have to say that I don't think I'd like having the gear-shift console on the left side, or having to shift with my left hand. This right-hander is glad I didn't have to do that.

 

When we were in Ireland my wife refused to rent a car, she had no interest in driving on the other side of the road. We walked or took bus tours to everything we wanted to see.

We were hoping to go to the UK this summer but I am thinking of pushing it back to October to see how things are, both over there and here in Canada.

 

I hope you get to go. It would definitely be better to wait until October, I think. I've got a cruise trip to the Scandinavian countries planned for June, but it is looking like I may not go. So far, it is still on as far as the cruise company is concerned. But I don't want to be wearing masks almost the whole time, and that is the current policy. Haven't decided for sure yet, but that's the way I'm leaning.

 

So the singing police officers were eliminated not once, but TWICE due to their lack of attention to detail.

Another thing that people have apparently lost is the ability to read a map. Also, I hope all the Racers that did Toss It now have new appreciation for drill team. I would have never picked that detour, because that shit is HARD.

Pool update:
Pilot - Ryan & Dusty | 56
WolvEagle - Kim & Penn | 40
*Anthony & Spencer | 34
WriteThinking - Raquel & Cayla | 26
*Huggy - Connie & Sam | 22
*Wenders - Caro & Ray | 19
MTM - Arun & Natalia | 14
TigerVols - Akbar & Sheri | 14
nietsroob17 - Lulu & Lala | 11
*Taylor & Isaiah | 10
*bumpy mcgee - Michael & Moe | 2

*Team has been eliminated

In the reshuffle of the pool, I took myself out of the equation. I gave bumpy the Singing Police Dudes back. And I flipped a coin between WriteThinking and Huggy on who got Raquel and Cayla. (Sorry, Huggy!)

I feel like this race is really Ryan & Dusty's to lose. Unless they just get really really lost, they are going to be a very difficult team to eliminate. Without Anthony and Spencer, their only real other competition is Kim & Penn.

Also, Switzerland is awesome and beautiful and I 100% recommend it to anyone looking for a mountain Europe getaway. I can't wait until I'm no longer beholden to an orthodontist and I can go back and eat ALL THE CHOCOLATE.