I thought the kiddie water-wings were absolutely hilarious! Yeah, those will help.
Well...they would keep her from drowning in a swimming pool.

But I forgot about the fact that in addition to having an incredible fear of heights, she also can't swim.

It really begs the question: WTF was she doing on Amazing Race?

Edit. Other than Rob/Amber with the eating challenge, and they convinced others to do the same.
That was clearly the best move in any of these reality shows...by far...once he convinced others...him and Amber couldn't lose that leg.

Well I see my prediction for the Virgins came true. Although they seemed to be patching things up during the post-race interview. I wonder how she will make it up to him? :rolleyes:

The end of The Elimination Station (http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/video/?vs=Elimination+Station) seems to indicate that he's accepted what happened and they'll move on.

Anyone know if this is the first time someone was unable to complete a task like this? I recall a lot of people having trouble with bungee jumps etc, but I don't recall anyone not finishing by choice.

One season a fast forward task in India, which they didn't find out until they arrived there, was for both team members to completely shave their heads bald. The two were both models or something like that, and refused the task; they had to go back and do the regular tasks, and I think they ended up finishing last, but on a non-elimination leg.

Here it is in Season 5 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Race_5#Leg_9_.28United_Arab_Emirates_.E2.86.92_I ndia.29)

3 seasons later (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amazing_Race_7#Leg_8_.28Botswana_.E2.86.92_India.29) they had a similar fast forward that Uchenna and Joyce completed (I seem to remember her crying but bravely carrying through, and looking pretty cool after it was done). They won the race that season.

I was disappointed in the two challenges that eliminated the poker girls because they physically could not complete them. IMO the 2 challenges were too hard for smaller women to accomplish. With all the other teams it was the man who rung the bell on the first try, while the women only came close after dozens of tries.

The team that deserved to be eliminated was the woman who kept miscounting the bells in the tower, and always yells at her partner, "BRIAN!!!!!!!!.".

The team that deserved to be eliminated was the woman who kept miscounting the bells in the tower, and always yells at her partner, "BRIAN!!!!!!!!.".
I don't think they deserved to be eliminated (although I would have liked it), but I did think they handled that bell situation quite maturely. Surprised me. The poker players suffered from switcheroo syndrome. Once they realized that they couldn't ring the bell, they should have moved on. I have little doubt they could have completed the golf challenge if they'd stuck with it.

That being said - it is a physical race and physical challenges are to be expected. Both girls seemed quite weak (which could also be due to race exhaustion), so I'm gussing it's more that they weren't physically fit than girls...

LOL @ Ericka counting the bells. Everyone else seemed to get 62 on the first try. She comes up with 43, then 56, then 57, then finally, after a break, 62.

Tiffany came really close with the hammer/bell thing, I'm sure that challenge was doable for them.

I have little doubt they could have completed the golf challenge if they'd stuck with it

not a chance. it was WAY too windy; those balls were too light. i doubt they could have done it on a calm day. aren't you allowed to skip a task and take a time penalty? they should have realized they weren't going to be able to do it and gone straight to the finish.

Tiffany came really close with the hammer/bell thing, I'm sure that challenge was doable for them.

it kind of boggles my mind that they even had to to do that task. it doesn't add anything to the race, and it was pretty much impossible for them to do. the fact that she even came close was impressive (compare that to her friend who couldn't even hit it).

so I'm gussing it's more that they weren't physically fit than girls...

well they don't likely work out or anything, but the one chick has gotta be stronger than 95% of females on planet earth. she gave it a pretty good swing. most girls would swing like her partner did.

I think that Brian/Ericka deserves to be eliminated, at least more so than the poker girls do. Man can't put the car in gear. Woman freaks out at challenges and they yell at each other. It's not the first time Ericka kept yelling/complaining instead of focusing on the challenge itself (and that makes me believe was the reason why she kept miscounting the bells and missed the little bits when assembling the hookah pipes in dubai).

On the other hand, I gained some respect to poker girl Tiffany since she and Maria lied about their profession early on. Tiffany was one tough girl considering her apparent physical capability or lack thereof. She was pretty close to hitting the bell in one particular swing. Physical challenges are expected in TAR, but I think it's not fair to put two physically demanded challenges in one detour.

I disagree that the hammer/bell was extremely physical. It is more of a coordination task than a physical task. If you can properly swing the hammer, you will hit the bell. Dropping it 3' with one hand half way down the handle will result in a failure.

I do agree though that there should simply have been a time penalty for failure similar to the failure to ride the bike as indicated on the clue which resulted in a 30 minute penalty. Perhaps there was and we just did not see it since they were in last place.

Yes I thought that they were eliminated for being stupid more than anything.
They should have realized they couldn't ring the bell...but continue on with the remainder of that task.

I felt bad for Maria & Tiffany because the dance should not have included the bell ringing. The golf was tough for the men who got several holes in 8 shots so it was near impossible for the girls. The Bell ringing should be passable say with a 30 minute penalty or after 50 trys you get a bye!

What I don't understand is Meghan & Cheyne BOTH went into the clock tower to count bells. I thought only one person was allowed to complete the task?

^^^ I'm pretty sure Meghan went in without Cheyne. She and one of the brothers decided to work together since they got there at the same time....

I've seen children do the hammer/bell activity. It has nothing to do with strength. Had they swung it in a full 360° it would of worked.

Interestingly, I think it was a non-elimination leg. If it is an elimination and the team is still on a task while everyone else has checked in Phil comes and says something along the lines of "the final team has checked in .. I'm sorry you've been eliminated" .. but he came some time later (it was significantly darker) and said "I understand you want to leave the race" or something along those lines.

You are correct, JonO. I thought they both went in as well, but after watching that part for a second time, it was one of the brothers that she went in with.

Thanks guys. I stand corrected. Wonder what show I was watching!

Thanks guys. I stand corrected. Wonder what show I was watching!
Hugh, if it makes you feel any better, I thought the same thing as you did, until my wife corrected me. The way the show was edited, it made it seem like Cheyne went in with her.

Also, weren't the poker ladies give the answer (62) by another team? Seems fitting that they got booted.

So glad the poker girls went home. They finished last a few weeks ago and were only saved because of the lost passport and the silly rules around that.

I was disappointed that the clues "farmer's dance" or "farmer's games" weren't more informative. Perhaps the TV audience wasn't let in on all the details. To me, the bell ringing is a game, not a dance, so it should not have been there.

The "farmer's games" was one fairly tough challenge. Bike, swim, golf and then swim and bike some more. Wow. A TAR triathelon.

The preview showed the resurrection of a tough challenge from the past...