Cowboys Set a New Race Record!

Worst to first, Speed Bump included, the Cowboys are definitely contenders!

The two ran a great leg with a Speed Bump that involved sniffing a variety of teas to determine which one contained a blend of spices. Thanks in part to an airport equalizer, the cowboys overcame the odds and stepped on the mat in first place.

Now, interestingly enough, the Cowboys did make one mistake — letting their taxi go while obtaining their first clue at the Snake Temple. While eventually finding someone to call for a taxi, it did put the pair several minutes behind the rest. Fortunately for them, they chose the right task at the Detour.

First to Worst!
Steve and Allie, on the other hand, somehow managed to go from first to worst. I still don't know what happened to this team that had seemed stronger in recent weeks. Was it the loss of their backpacks that caused a lack of focus? Poor decision making? Random bad luck? Or maybe a combination of everything.

Whatever the reason, the two which seemed to be in a great position suddenly found themselves falling further and further behind.

Lesser of Two Evils
The Detour seemed to set the tone for the entire race. Only the Cowboys chose and successfully completed balancing a large flag pole on their foreheads while crossing a field. Sounds complicated, but between the two tasks, it turned out to be the lesser of two evils. Because of this, the two jumped into first place and found themselves heading toward the Road Block where their Speed Bump waited.

The other task, chosen by the remaining five teams, was to carry 12 extremely large incense sticks up 150 steps of a temple, place them in a burner and ignite them. Carol and Brandy arrived first, and got the complaining underway. Within a short time, Brent and Caite were there, ready to begin their task as well which seemed to be taking cheap shots at Brandy and Carol.

Side note: At the beginning of this leg, Detectives Michael and Louie were shown talking to Brent and Caite. Both teams have an obvious dislike for Carol and Brandy. (Understandable to me because of their negativity but Brent and Caite are in the running for the Most Negative Team Ever title too!) The Detectives pronounce Brent and Caite "good kids" and ones that you would be proud to call your own. (I would beg to differ!) Near the end of the discussion, they extract a promise from the models to U-Turn the dating couple if they had a chance.

Bad Advice = Bad Decision Making
Back to the race. Steve and Allie, Louie and Michael, and Dan and Jordan all got stuck in a traffic jam which put them behind the other teams. Based on info from their taxi drivers, Steve and Allie, and Dan and Jordan abandoned their cabs and took off on what they believed to be a four to five minute run to … wait for it … the wrong temple!

Michael and Louie who made a good decision to stay in the taxi, arrived to carry the incense sticks up the stairs. Louie is incredibly out of shape and his coughing, huffing and puffing had me worried that we might witness the first team to leave the race because of a heart attack. No kidding! He sounds terrible.

The task was grueling in the hot sun. Snide remarks by Brent and Caite made me hope they would be eliminated this round, but no such luck!

Steve and Allie, and Dan and Jordan, found running up the hill difficult in the heat but Steve and Allie had the forethought to ask their taxi driver to meet them at the top. When the cab arrived, they jumped in and soon discovered their driver had no idea where the temple was, so they switched tasks to the flag balancing.

Confronted by the large flags and poles, they soon abandoned it in favor of the incense burning. See what I mean? Lack of focus, little mistakes, random bad luck, and poor decisions, all factored into their last place finish!

Good Luck at the Road Block
The Road Block was interesting as one team member had to break coconuts to find one with a brightly colored inside. Then, they had to make a traditional Hindu offering that would be set afloat.

Jet, or the quiet one as he's known at my house, took on the task and made quick work of it by smashing the coconuts on a concrete slab until he found the right one. After his float offering was accepted, the two took off for the Pit Stop, and easily won the race. I kept waiting for Phil to say that they missed some part of the task but instead they were rewarded with a romantic getaway. ;-)

Brent and Caite also suffered their share of bad luck with taxis when their driver could not find the site of the Road Block. This gave an advantage to Carol and Brandy who arrived, finished the task, and went on to claim second place.

Luck was with Michael and Louie who completed the Detour, and found the right coconut on their second attempt to quickly finish the Road Block, putting them on the mat in third place. Brent and Caite finished fourth, while Dan and Jordan took the final spot prior to elimination.

I was not happy seeing Steve and Allie go. Were they the most exciting team? No, but this season is a little blah in the exciting team field anyway. They were solid and positive but it was the little things. Bye dad and daughter!