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Jaymes & James (Best friends/Chippendales dancers): It was a nice third place for Team Beefcake last week but these guys, I suspect, are one dunderheaded move away from elimination every week. They haven’t exhibited much in the way of Race smarts that will justify viewing them as anything more than muscles. Who knows; maybe they will this week, but I think these guys embody this brilliant line from a Gin Blossoms song (yeah, I said brilliant and Gin Blossoms in the same sentence): “If you don’t expect too much from me, then you might not be let down.” I don’t expect anything noteworthy from them and I don’t think they will let me down in fulfilling such low expectations.

Gary & Will (Best Friends/Substitute Teachers): Narrowly escaped elimination last week as number nine (or at least the producers would like for us to believe it was “narrowly”). I don’t buy any semblance of closeness in the substitutes’ finish and the eliminated Amy & Daniel. But they (mainly Will) struggled so much on the Roadblock that he almost single-handedly eliminated his team. These guys are surrogates for me. I am a huge fan of the show but that doesn’t mean I would be good at this Race. I feel they are only a week or so away from elimination but not before…

Rob & Kelley (married monster truckers): Last Sunday…SUNDAY…SUNDAY!!!, this couple crossed the finish line with a not-so-monstrous eighth place. They are blissfully ignorant of their own inability on the Race and convinced that poor racing will be a strategy. I don’t buy this thinking as valid or even quite understand how it could be valid. They branched out from the others last week by taking a different connecting flight but failed to compare the ultimate arrival times and length of layovers. If they do somehow stick around it will assuredly be as one of the last two teams.

Enough of my ramblings and sarcasm-laced predictions. Let’s get to this week’s leg, which kicks off where they left off. It looks like a pesky flight won’t be the equalizer this week as the teams will continue their onslaught of Indonesia.





Natalie & Nadiaya are the first off the mat but only a mere five minutes before Trey & Lexi. Those five minutes vanish as the girls are already turned around in the market going in the wrong direction. The teams are heading to a restaurant but they are immediately warned that a U-Turn is ahead.

Since we aren’t facing a “hurry up and wait at the airport” scenario this week, it begins fast, furious and confused for the first four teams. Team Beefcake and divorcees Abbie & Ryan are preyed upon by the allied twins and Longhorns to all work together to find their next clue location. This not-so-fierce foursome finally gets in cabs and head out. Based upon the manic nature of the other three teams so far, I stand by my assertion that Abbie & Ryan are one of if not the strongest (read: most competent) team we have this season.

Team Beekman of Josh & Brent nicely sum up their observations of the teams so far: The Alpha teams (twins, Longhorns, Beefcake and Abbie & Ryan) are hyper-competitive and will do anything to win, while everyone else is just trying to make it from leg to leg. He then says that the teams that are good people seem to end up winning. He must have missed the season when Ernie & Cindy won.

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