Looks like being on the Left is bad juju. Watch Team Ex-NFL!

I thought last night’s show was actually quite entertaining. Not only did one of my least favorite teams go home, but they brought back the Double U-turn. Too bad no one actually used it to change the game. Baby steps, people.

This week were still kickin’ it in Malawi. The racers get their clue and find out “Caution Double U-turn ahead.” They must go to a bus station and hop on a very overcrowded bus. It’s obvious the 7am bus isn’t leaving until all team members are on it. They wait until Amani and Marcus show up before taking off. It could be they just want every bus to be full before taking off, but I’m skeptical. Once they arrive at their destination, there is an immediate Roadblock.

ROADBLOCK One person must hop on a bike and become a taxi driver to a Malawian delivering fish. Because the roadblocks in the past have been so physically demanding a lot of the girls chose to perform this task to even out the numbers. Some teams had problems. Andy’s bike broke down and he had to have some of the locals help him patch it back together. If not for his misstep they would have been quite a bit ahead of the rest of the group. Laurence and Sandy got lost looking for their delivery point and Jennifer, aka annoying sister, didn’t take her clue with her. She decided, instead of heading back to get the clue, to wait around at the road to the village. She was hoping one of the other teams would ride by and she could ask to see their clue. They don’t say how long she waited, but I can only guess it was a really long time. I would have stuck around for five minutes then gotten out of there. It is really, really bad news if you don’t know where the other teams are. I understand her not wanting to have to ride back,  but not knowing is much worse. Cindy and Andy are the first teams done and they rush off to the next task.

SPEED BUMP Team Ex-NFL incurred a Speed Bump and they had an extra task. They had a slide puzzle of a flag they had to solve before they could move on. It certainly seems the Speed Bumps are getting harder. Amani and Marcus seemed to struggle with the puzzle a bit, but I was really impressed with their ability to stay calm and encourage each other. We don’t know exactly how long it took them, but they did eventually complete it. Marcus decided to do the Roadblock and it was a good decision. He said he actually trained on a bike at home and put weight in the baby seat while ridding up hills. It paid off as he blew through the Roadblock and caught up quickly to the other teams.

Lost cause coming through!

DETOUR Dugout OR Lugout Both tasked looked really hard. In Dugout you had to row these really heavy canoes out onto the lake, around a canoe and back. The distance looked quite long and the boats were really difficult to steer. Team OCD and Team Snowboarders were there roughly at the same time. Right away Team OCD realized it was going to be a tough challenge. They decided now was the time to use their Express Pass and get a win. They got their next clue and headed out to find the Jamaica Hut. Both Detours were at the lake and the entrance to the area was a bit weird it looked like a fence with a sign that was maybe a village name. For whatever reason Team OCD decided to leave the area to search for the Jamaica Hut. Once they were up top they found out the Jamaica Hut was actually lakeside near the Detour site. They wasted precious time and we hear Cindy say, “Shoot!” about 30 times. At the hut is the Double U-turn. They decide not to U-turn and are given their clue for the Pit Stop. The rest of the teams eventually make it to the Detour. Team Old People, Team Adventure and Team Who choose the boats. Sandy commented once again on how the 60 year olds were showing them up. Bill and Cathi totally rocked it and blew by the other teams.

Team Ex-NFL are the only ones to choose Lugout. They had to transport a bunch of items and people from boats out in the water to land. The catch was they had to do it like the locals and not allow the people to get wet. They decided to have Marcus carry all the people, on his shoulders like the locals, and Amani carried all the goods. They both did an amazing job. You could tell carrying the people was really difficult. Team Adventure got done just before Team Ex-NFL but they did the same thing as Team OCD and went up to search for the Jamaica Hut. Amani and Marcus were smart and asked the locals right there at the beach. They went directly to the hut and chose not to U-turn anyone. Team Adventure finally get to the U-turn mat and they knew Team Ex-NFL and Team Who were behind them. They debated who to U-turn and chose Amani and Marcus. Too bad they were already headed to the Pit Stop.

Winners of 5 out of 7 legs. Sorry, suckers!

PIT STOP So Team OCD and Team Snowboarders both realize it’s going to be a sprint to the finish. In the closest finish so far, Team Snowboarders barely beat out Cindy to the mat. Cindy and Ernie’s search for the Jamaica Hut cost them $15,000. At least now Team Snowboarders will be able to pay the taxes on all their trips. To no one’s surprise Team Annoying gets the boot. They couldn’t even edit it to make it look close. It’s always a bit sad/shocking to have a team go from *almost* first to last. Jennifer’s decision to wait around meant they never had a chance. I’m just glad no one U-turned them. I will say I’m really impressed by how Justin handled his sister’s mistake. Maybe there is hope for them after all.

What did you think of this leg? Disappointed in the the lack of drama from a Double U-turn? Did you ever carry someone on the back of your bike as a kid? Are Amani and Marcus your new favorites? They are mine. COMMENTS puuuleeeaaase!