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Bopper is the man for this Roadblock. For the other teams, it’s Jamie for Team Un-Fed, Brendon for Big Brother, Vanessa, and JJ.

Hey, let’s check in with our dueling Fast Forward teams. Rachel & Dave have found a nice rhythm which finishes off with Dave being able to just throw the bale directly where it is needed on the stack. The big, burly gym rats are shown up by the married couple. And just like that Army of Two springs back to the front.

Dejected and covered in hay, Joey & Danny get in their cab and head to the Roadblock, while elated and also covered in hay, Rachel & Dave head to the pitstop.

The first group in the simulator has JJ, Bopper and Jamie. Even though they all successfully complete the challenge, it has the potential for disaster if a person gets even the slightest bit unnerved. It may be interesting to see if the next group of Brendon and mortal enemy Vanessa will be as supportive as these first three are. I suspect not.

The teams are now heading to a carpet shop for their next clue in old Baku.

And just like that Army of Two is checked in as number one and is rewarded with a pair of brand new 2013 cars from you-know-who. Rachel acknowledges the folly of their ways from earlier and that they are basing their strategies with that knowledge in mind. That is pretty much the only way you can do it, whether you get along or not. The race requires you to adjust and focus on what works for your team.

Back at the Roadblock, it appears there was enough time between teams because Brendon is the simulator solo, while Bad Rachel and Vanessa wait outside watching. Vanessa’s anxiety is at an all-time high as she admits that she doesn’t like closed spaces or water. So this is absolutely the worst possible challenge for her.

And despite the manufactured drama of her seeming to have troubles on the task, she only needs one attempt just like the others. As they finish up, Jersey Shore arrives and Joey steps up for them.

At the Detour, all four teams are back-to-back-to-back-to-back as they arrive at the carpet shop. This week’s Detour is Apples or Oil. For Apples, the teams have to search an old car filled with a ton of apples to find one apple with a race flag in place of its stem. For Oil, the teams have to go to a spa that specializes in crude oil baths. They have to remove all the oil from a customer with a metal shoe horn and then wash off any excess oil. Between Oil and last week’s beard task, this has to be the most touchy-feely season of the Amazing Race ever.

Of the four teams, Team Un-Fed is only one that chooses Apples; they all head to their respective challenges.

Displaying an utter lack of awareness, Vanessa & Ralph arrive at the carpet shop and begin searching the store for their clue, which is displayed in plain sight about three feet from them. I guess they assumed it was decoration.

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