S33.E04: Ready to Restart the Race

[ProfCrash]

25 minutes ago, aghst said:

I missed that.

So maybe Akbar was beating himself up, not just Sheri, for doing that task.

Can people with fear of heights go on cable cars or peer over the railings from an observation deck at 8000 feet above sea level?

I've never had problems with those but I don't know that I would bungee-jump or do paragliding where you're running off a cliff with an experienced tandem paragliding pilot.

Has TAR ever done a tandem paragliding or parachuting detour/road block?  I've seen tandem parachuting on some other shows but maybe there are insurance issues or TAR doesn't make them sign the same kind of liability waivers as shows like The Challenge.

I believe that some professional athletes have contracts with specific provisions to bar them from doing things like that or even something like skiing, not just because of the risk of fatality but serious injury which devalues a multi-year contract.

I don't have a fear of heights, I have a fear of falling to my death. I handle the climb up Diamondhead in Hawaii easily, it is steep as all hell and gone but there are safety rails that I can hold on to. The safety rails have massive gaps in them but I have something to grip so if I feel like if I trip, I am holding on to something so I won't fall down the mountain. I could not handle the path up Half Dome. It is the same width and the same sheer mountainside but there are no safety rails, nothing to hold on to. I had a mild panic attack and turned around and went back down to the starting point to wait for my party. 

I would have been fine on this roadblock because there was a harness and someone I was belayed to so I would have felt safe. Like I said, I was surprisingly fine with zip lining because there was a harness and two separate points of contact to prevent me from falling. 

Totally fine in Gondalas, ski lifts, and airplanes. 

I think my issue with bungee jumping is I don't like that stomach dropping feeling, zip lining was just enough thank you and don't even think about big roller coasters. Nope, not happening.  Not sure about Para Gliding, maybe for a million bucks...

31 minutes ago, aghst said:

Thing is, they've been getting bystanders to open GPS apps for them on their phones or borrowing the phones.

They've done the same with their taxi drivers too.

Or they even got people to lend them their phones to run apps or make phone calls.

So they either ban technology or allow it all the way.

Choose a lane.

Ah, but most of them forget to write down the directions. Penn and Kim both mentioned that they were awful about listening to directions in the first leg because the adrenaline rush was too great and they would only listen to the first part of what someone said. they made more of an attempt to actually listen all the way through and write down directions. 

I do think that they stopped allowing them to hire a taxi to drive in front of them and guide them. 

 

[EllenB]

Hubby and I still use maps. I'll occasionally use a Google map if we're in a city and need detail, but we don't use the get-from-point-A-to-point-B thingy.

I'm pretty sure the show puts any prospective team through physical testing to make sure they are able to participate in any of the challenges, and to find out if there are hidden health issues. There have been pudgy men on this show before, but oh my, let's not have any larger women because of course they're full of hidden health problems. 🙄 Size-shaming is so last century.

Edited January 20, 2022 by EllenB

[proserpina65]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Yeah GPS has taken me on some rural roads where there was barely room for one car in one direction let alone two cars.

In some cases, I didn't take the turn and it recalculates for the most part.

Obviously there are going to be areas where they haven't surveyed the roads recently.  But the point is, GPS software is constantly getting updated maps while paper maps are static.

Then you have the points of interest information, so you can search for parking, restaurants, gas stations or tourist attractions -- you can use it while walking on foot to navigate an unfamiliar town.

 

 

Eh, that's fine if you like GPS.  I don't.  To each, their own.

1 hour ago, Taeolas said:

I do wonder if they're going to have to reconsider the "No phones/No GPS" rules as technology continues to progress. Sure the self navigating is a good challenge for the race, but more and more it's becoming an artificial limitation.

I'm sure TAR could arrange sponsorship deals with Samsung or some other phone company to provide phones for everyone (to make sure its fair) and each leg/new country they could get SIM cards for local data access (but no phone calling) and make it part of the race. (I'm pretty sure they've had stages in the past where they've had to take selfies with the Travelocity Gnome, so that's 2 sponsorship birds with one task :) )

I hope not.  That would take all the fun out of the teams having to drive themselves.  I don't care if they ask locals to look things up for them.  To me, that's no different than asking for directions.  But I don't want them to be able to use GPS themselves.

38 minutes ago, aghst said:

Has TAR ever done a tandem paragliding or parachuting detour/road block?

Yes, they have, both paragliding and parachuting.

 

[Roccos Brother]

Ryan giving me crazy leg-envy. I would literally kill for legs like that.

A bit ironic that it came down to the two eliminated teams at the back of the pack, and that they were in direct competition as the only ones that chose the belt detour.

I'm glad father/daughter team are back and still in it, but I worry their lack of navigation skills will be the end of them.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Roccos Brother

[sugarbaker design]

44 minutes ago, aghst said:

Surprised they don't do that in Europe.  Tons of paragliders in the Alps.

In fact, now that I think about it, they may have done it in Chamonix, France, which is near Mont Blanc.

I'm sure they have, I can only remember the one in South America.

[proserpina65]

16 minutes ago, EllenB said:

I'm pretty sure the show puts any prospective team through physical testing to make sure they are able to participate in any of the challenges, and to find out if there are hidden health issues. There have been pudgy men on this show before, but oh my, let's not have any larger women because of course they're full of hidden health problems. 🙄 Size-shaming is so last century.

There was criticism of the air traffic controllers in season 4 for being out of shape and one of them having bad knees.  Same with the middle-aged overweight couple with health issues who were the first eliminated in that season.  Of course, that was in 2003, so last century, sure.  But there have been other teams with male members who were criticized for being out of shape.  Just not recently because the trend has been to have racers who were pretty fit.

I'm all for having racers of various sizes, both male & female, but Sheri's lack of fitness is pretty obvious so far and I have some concern about it.  (And I say that as someone whose own lack of fitness is but one of many reasons I would never go on TAR.)

Edited January 20, 2022 by proserpina65

[Chicago Redshirt]

On 1/20/2022 at 6:29 AM, Jodithgrace said:

I get that the sample belt was a different story, but surely the sample would have shown if the story started at the buckle end or the holes end. The cops just seem to have randomly chosen a direction and kept going with it, without ever checking the sample to see if they were doing it correctly. Nobody seemed to have a problem with the story itself. 

The cops didn't get the symbols in the right order on their first try. I don't know if it would have been accepted if they had gotten the symbols in the correct order but starting the story with the buckle as opposed to ending there (whichever was proper). But I paused it to doublecheck, and they had at least two out of place.

ETA: The correct order was: Papa Cow, Baby Calf, Cloud, Farmer & Dog, Mama Cow, Goat and Sun. The Cops had (ignoring that they started in the wrong direction): Papa Cow, Cloud, Farmer & Dog, Mama Cow, Baby Calf, Goat, Sun.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Chicago Redshirt

[iMonrey]

Quote

I do wish Phil could have made a brief comment on air as to why each of the other teams couldn't return.  And maybe as he is doing a voiceover, there could be an updated picture of each team.  We shouldn't have to resort to google to find out why teams didn't come back.

This is just a guess on my part, but maybe the reason the show didn't address why four teams couldn't return was in deference to Caro and Ray and/or Taylor and Isaiah. It's easy enough to explain why Spencer and Anthony couldn't return (new job, couldn't get time off) or why Connie and Sam couldn't return (preggers). But if you addressed Caro and Ray, you'd have to say "Well, they broke up last summer and don't want to race together anymore." It's not a good look. And the circumstances under which Taylor and Isaiah bailed are just sad. (That said, they didn't shy away from a returning team's Dead Grandma sob story.)

Quote

So apparently Ryan spent the entire 19 months in the gym. 

He is heavily into physical fitness - as a result of going to prison. He's pretty short, and was pretty scrawny when he was arrested, and his father warned him he'd have to learn to take care of himself inside prison. He really bulked up. His Instagram is filled with shirtless selfies, BTW.

Quote

One of the French train heroes had an injury and couldn't race.
 

Quote

Spencer had just started a new job and wasn't able to leave for the Race

 

It was Anthony who had just started his dream job and couldn't take that much time off. Not sure where the injury story came from. 

I watched the video of Spencer and Anthony linked in the media thread. It looked like Spencer put on quite a bit of weight.

[greyhorse]

5 hours ago, bunnyface said:

 

But to be fair, the guys are not raising two kids (and a husband) and running a family and an after-school program.  At what point was she supposed to magically produce an extra 12 hours a day to train and the $$$ to leave home and go mountain climbing and hire someone else to run her life?  I obviously don't know, but in my mind, I don't see Akbar saying "yes, honey, you spend the weekend hiking and I'll take care of everything here."  There is a world of difference between being a single man (are they single?) and a married woman with kids.   However, I do think she did "something" because she does appear to be in slightly better shape than the first round.  Not Racing shape, but somewhat better.  

P.S. I have dreamed or fantasized or whatever about being on the Race a thousand times.  But every one of those dreams includes the reality that I would probably die in the first leg.  I'm not in Racing shape either.  

Well, then don't go on the race!  Yes, kudos to her for serving the youth of her community and raising kids and running a family.  But this is a RAAAACCCEEE.  Nobody is going to let you finish first because you are Mother Teresa.  You need to be physically fit to be successful.  You need to be able to run with a heavy backpack, walk a lot, climb hills, lift things, etc .  Yes, there are mental tasks as well.  But in a RACE, you need to be fast.  

4 hours ago, vousviou said:

I think a lack of fitness is clear but I also wonder if more is going on, possibly even contributing to the fitness issue. 

She was a former Division 1 college basketball player, and while I've known former athletes who have gone seriously out of shape, the only top level ones I've known who move so tentatively even from a resting state are ones who have had major injuries -- blown out knees, bad discs, etc.

I'm sure she never played at the level of Sheryl Swopes or Diana Taurasi, but even benchwarmers for minor Div 1 level teams are very good athletes. To my eye there is something more than just fitness, time and having kids at work. 

OK, so maybe she played power forward.  Akbar looks like he could have been a power forward as well.  She could also have played catcher on a softball team.  "Division 1 athlete" doesn't always mean "top physical fitness".  I think if she had injuries, we would have heard about them in the interviews.  Either she would have been complaining about her bad knees while actually doing the task, or Akbar would have said something like "Man, this has got to be hard on her because she blew out both Achilles two years ago."  I think it is what it is: she's just out of shape.

4 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I think the grousing about Ryan and Dusty doing well was tongue-in-cheek, at least on Raquel/Cayla's part. Phil asked a leading question about girl power (probably knowing that they'd been talking about it in interviews), so they went with it, and it turned into some good natured digs at the guys. So I don't think it was salty at all.

Disagree.  The girls kept talking about "all girl" team winning all the time.  It's annoying.  It'd be one thing if they just mentioned it once.  But there have been multiple comments from them about only women winning.

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

But I don't think that was an artistic/visual challenge.  It was a physical challenge involving hammering some emblems into a belt.  They had to read a very simple story, identify elements from the story and put them in the correct order.  They had the symbols in the right order... they just put them on backwards.  And that seemed to be purely an exercise in common sense and observation.  Common sense would have told them to start at the buckle and go in order, and observation would have shown them which direction the guy was working.

I'm still going with "dumb".  Sorry.  They seem like nice guys, but pretty dim.

I agree.  Dumber than a box of rocks.  If I was their boss, I'd seriously be questioning their competence as police officers.  Not observant.  Not logical.  Not fast.  They deserve to go home and it would have been a travesty if this was a non elimination leg and it spared them once again.

1 hour ago, Tango64 said:

So apparently Ryan spent the entire 19 months in the gym. 

As for the busses at the beginning, they all ended up leaving at the same time but maybe the producers were hoping that at least one team would be delayed finding the busses and the last bus couldn't leave without the last team on board. Could have created a real gap for two or three teams.

Curious detail: What was the silver handle with a black knob that was so prominent on the back of each bus seat? Just a handhold?

Not sure if Ryan works, as he did get $11M for being wronged, but kudos to him for 1) having the fire to want to get physically stronger and 2) being able to do it in the first place.

Didn't understand the buses either.  They should have left at staggered intervals, otherwise why bother with making it seem lit you had to get to the bus in a hurry?  Maybe some of it was a poor attempt at physical distancing, or just the fact that the buses looked small to begin with.

1 hour ago, ichbin said:

Not only that.  They had a few segments under their belts before the race was suspended and over a year to analyze and contemplate what they could have done better.  Not just physically, but their interactions and behaviors also. I know the past two years have been stressful, but if someone is really invested in winning the top prize they do whatever they can toward making that a reality. If they have seen any seasons they had to know that just showing up with matching t-shirts isn't enough.  This race tests competitors mentally as well as physically.

 

Yes, this.  If you were planning to go on the race again, then make some time in your life to train.  At least just a bit.  She doesn't have 30 minutes of free time in a day?  Everyone can make time to work on something if they want.  You might be riding a bike or lifting dumbbells at 11 pm, but if you want something enough, you find a way.  As far as the behavior, that's all on Akbar.  I don't think she made any negative comments unless she was sniping back at him.  Akbar is just critical.  And he can't always use the "I'm a coach so I try to motivate" line forever.  At some point, you're just exposed as an unsupportive husband who is unhappy that his wife is out of shape.

[greyhorse]

29 minutes ago, EllenB said:

I'm pretty sure the show puts any prospective team through physical testing to make sure they are able to participate in any of the challenges, and to find out if there are hidden health issues. There have been pudgy men on this show before, but oh my, let's not have any larger women because of course they're full of hidden health problems. 🙄 Size-shaming is so last century.

Had a friend compete on Survivor and all that was needed was medical clearance from a doctor.  Meaning that you don't have uncontrolled high blood pressure that puts you at risk for a heart attack or stroke, you don't have any physical limitations, etc.  That's all.  They're not making these contestants run the 40 yard dash and seeing how many pull-ups they can do in one minute.  So we can assume that Sheri doesn't have double knee replacements or any physical ailments that are limiting her performance..  Not size shaming, just saying it how I see it.  She's overweight and out of shape.  So that puts her team at a tremendous disadvantage.

Edited January 20, 2022 by greyhorse

[GaT]

I am just not feeling this season, the race seems boring to me.

Edited January 20, 2022 by GaT

[ProfCrash]

32 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

This is just a guess on my part, but maybe the reason the show didn't address why four teams couldn't return was in deference to Caro and Ray and/or Taylor and Isaiah. It's easy enough to explain why Spencer and Anthony couldn't return (new job, couldn't get time off) or why Connie and Sam couldn't return (preggers). But if you addressed Caro and Ray, you'd have to say "Well, they broke up last summer and don't want to race together anymore." It's not a good look. And the circumstances under which Taylor and Isaiah bailed are just sad. (That said, they didn't shy away from a returning team's Dead Grandma sob story.)

 

It was Anthony who had just started his dream job and couldn't take that much time off. Not sure where the injury story came from. 

I think they didn't say anything because of Caro and Ray. I don't think they wanted to say that the manufactured couple broke up. I think that all the other reasons make sense, even if I confused who started the new job. Baby, new job, death of a sibling the day before the race restarted. Everyone understands those reasons. 

Caro and Ray not only broke up but they were from a CBS reality show meant to find the love of your life, they don't want to advertise that those show work out as well as we all know that they do. 

I think they should have told people because the reasons are all logical, even Caro and Ray's. 

As for the All Girls team winning thing, they are being asked that by Production so they have to answer it. I doubt that it is the story line that they want but it is what we are going to hear because it is what the Production team is asking about. 

[ichbin]

28 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I'm all for having racers of various sizes, both male & female, but Sheri's lack of fitness is pretty obvious so far and I have some concern about it.  (And I say that as someone whose own lack of fitness is but one of many reasons I would never go on TAR.)

That's it in a nutshell!  There were 32 seasons prior to this.  Contestants should be aware by now of the types of physical strengths they may be called upon to utilize when completing tasks.  Sure, they probably have to pass a physical, but that doesn't insure ability to perform. It's also the responsibility of the contestants to know their limitations.  This isn't necessarily a size issue.  I've seen plenty of large people who are in good physical condition  as well as plenty of small people who are not. The largest obstacle this particularly team has working against them is that they are not in sync mentally though. The best functioning teams generally have mutual respect and support going for them.

[ProfCrash]

30 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Had a friend compete on Survivor and all that was needed was medical clearance from a doctor.  Meaning that you don't have uncontrolled high blood pressure that puts you at risk for a heart attack or stroke, you don't have any physical limitations, etc.  That's all.  They're not making these contestants run the 40 yard dash and seeing how many pull-ups they can do in one minute.  So we can assume that Sheri doesn't have double knee replacements or any physical ailments that are limiting her performance..  Not size shaming, just saying it how I see it.  She's overweight and out of shape.  So that puts her team at a tremendous disadvantage.

Akbar does not appear to be in great shape either. They both appear to need to make some life style changes to be a bit healthier but that is their call to do or not do. 

 

[Netfoot]

36 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Didn't understand the buses either.  They should have left at staggered intervals, otherwise why bother with making it seem lit you had to get to the bus in a hurry?

Maybe each bus was to take off when it's full complement of passengers arrived, thus introducing some delays here and there. But they all turned up pretty much together, so that didn't fly.

Perhaps they'd planned some other stunt that fell through so they just used the buses for Transport.

6 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I think they should have told people because the reasons are all logical, even Caro and Ray's.

I think it was left out because it wasn't relevant to the race. They had the whole restart thing to present, and wouldn't want to spend more time going through the separate reasons for the non-return of the missing four.

 

[watch2much]

I like Sheri and admire her grit.  but I also think she could have worked on her cardio a bit during covid especially since she saw how much of a problem it was for her the first time.  I thought I heard they both had fear of heights but she said she'd do it.  so for him to complain all that time was really outrageous.  plus, in addition to her being out of shape, they were 8000 miles up so breathing was even more difficult.  that she finished at all was amazing. but I know competitive people (I won't play sports with my son because he becomes like Akbar.)

Really wanted the cops to do better.  but c'mon.....the part that goes thru the loop is the end of the belt, otherwise they'd put the buckle there.  

I would be so bad navigating.

I am geographically challenged and can guarantee I always choose the wrong turn so I feel for others who share my problem.

is anyone else tired of all the hooting and hollering all the time?  I miss the days of the cowboys who just quietly and politely went about the race. that's the problem with influencers, they have to be "on" all the time.

Edited January 20, 2022 by watch2much
add

[bearcatfan]

Penn and Kim’s recap just dropped and while I haven’t listened yet, they did have a brief post with it. Caro and Ray intended to return but Caro was having visa issues as she’s not a US citizen. Also Taylor and Isaiah were actually there to restart the race when they got the call that Taylor’s brother had died. 
 

ETA - they have Mike and Moe on the podcast if you care to listen. 

Edited January 20, 2022 by bearcatfan

[bankerchick]

7 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

The two all women teams can stuff it. Yes, it must suck that Ryan/Dusty are doing well. But answering Phil's question and pointing fingers at Ryan/Dusty for doing well is...something else. Either we're missing the context of Ryan/Dusty acting cocky, or they're overexaggerating and salty because the men are doing well.

Did I mishear or did one of the women refer to them as 'Ryan and Rusty?'  I hate all this 'girl-power' shit, not to mention, if Ryan and Dusty started flirting with them or offered to team up, I think these girls would jump at it.

[greyhorse]

23 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

As for the All Girls team winning thing, they are being asked that by Production so they have to answer it. I doubt that it is the story line that they want but it is what we are going to hear because it is what the Production team is asking about. 

I'm too lazy to watch all the episodes to find the instances they talked about it, but some of them seemed to be spontaneous conversations in a cab, etc.  Not just Phil asking at the mat.  And we really don't know if production asked them those questions.  Who is asking them when they're in the cab?  There's just a cameraman.  And even if they did, surely they picked up a little on a vibe from them that made production ask those leading questions.

8 minutes ago, bearcatfan said:

Penn and Kim’s recap just dropped and while I haven’t listened yet, they did have a brief post with it. Caro and Ray intended to return but Caro was having visa issues as she’s not a US citizen. Also Taylor and Isaiah were actually there to restart the race when they got the call that Taylor’s brother had died. 
 

ETA - they have Mike and Moe on the podcast if you care to listen. 

Really.  Even though apparently they were no longer a couple?  They would still race together.  That would have been fun to watch unfold.

 

24 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Akbar does not appear to be in great shape either. They both appear to need to make some life style changes to be a bit healthier but that is their call to do or not do. 

 

Yes.  As I said, he fits the "power forward" basketball player.  Big, not morbidly obese, but you know he couldn't beat a point guard or shooting guard in a footrace.  Plenty of Div I football players also aren't in the greatest shape either, just look at all the offensive and defensive linemen.  

[bearcatfan]

8 minutes ago, greyhorse said:Really.  Even though apparently they were no longer a couple?  They would still race together.  That would have been fun to watch unfold.

Ok, I screwed up the quote above but hopefully everyone can read it. 
 

I’m guessing the lure of a million was too big to pass up, so they tried.  It would have been fascinating to watch and I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see it. 

[RunningMarket]

32 minutes ago, watch2much said:

I like Sheri and admire her grit.  but I also think she could have worked on her cardio a bit during covid especially since she saw how much of a problem it was for her the first time.  I thought I heard they both had fear of heights but she said she'd do it.  so for him to complain all that time was really outrageous.  plus, in addition to her being out of shape, they were 8000 miles up so breathing was even more difficult.  that she finished at all was amazing. but I know competitive people (I won't play sports with my son because he becomes like Akbar.)

Really wanted the cops to do better.  but c'mon.....the part that goes thru the loop is the end of the belt, otherwise they'd put the buckle there.  

I would be so bad navigating.

I am geographically challenged and can guarantee I always choose the wrong turn so I feel for others who share my problem.

is anyone else tired of all the hooting and hollering all the time?  I miss the days of the cowboys who just quietly and politely went about the race. that's the problem with influencers, they have to be "on" all the time.

8000 mile is roughly the circumference of the Earth - so yes, breathing would certainly be difficult 8000 miles above sea level. I believe you mean meters. 😉

With so many gym closures and various lockdown restrictions, I will give someone a bit of slack when it comes to cardio. I know mine personally has taken a bit of a hit in the past 2 years just due to having to work out at home most of the time (I live in a condo, so it's not like I can run laps). But 19 months is certainly enough time to at least work on the other issues their team is suffering from.

Edited January 20, 2022 by RunningMarket
spelling

[meep.meep]

31 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

 

Really.  Even though apparently they were no longer a couple?  They would still race together.  That would have been fun to watch unfold.

Just like Frank and Margarita!

16 minutes ago, RunningMarket said:

8000 mile is roughly the circumference of the Earth - so yes, breathing would certainly be difficult 8000 miles above sea level. I believe you mean meters. 😉

 

8000 meters is just below the height of Mt. Everest.  They meant 8000 feet.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, greyhorse said:

6 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I think the grousing about Ryan and Dusty doing well was tongue-in-cheek, at least on Raquel/Cayla's part. Phil asked a leading question about girl power (probably knowing that they'd been talking about it in interviews), so they went with it, and it turned into some good natured digs at the guys. So I don't think it was salty at all.

Disagree.  The girls kept talking about "all girl" team winning all the time.  It's annoying.  It'd be one thing if they just mentioned it once.  But there have been multiple comments from them about only women winning.

The fact that Raquel and Cayla have talked about an "all girl" team winning on multiple occasions is not in dispute. I was countering the opinion that their mat talk about Ryan/Dusty doing well was salty or mean-spirited in some way. I felt that they were just joking around and have zero problem with R/D or how they're doing.

You're still free to disagree, of course.

[RunningMarket]

7 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

8000 meters is just below the height of Mt. Everest.  They meant 8000 feet.

Right!

We both stand corrected.

[Hera]

It really sucks that the other contestants were more supportive of Sheri during that roadblock than her own husband was. And it's not like the other contestants were particularly kind—Akbar was just that bad. I wonder what he makes of his edit.

I'm surprised more people didn't go for the belt detour. It's clear that certain teams (Kim/Penn, Lulu/Lala, Akbar/Sheri) seem to feel that they're stronger in tasks that have a performance component, but I was surprised that Cayla/Raquel and Ryan/Dusty went for the flags too. I agree with whoever said that it would have been nice to get a sense of how much time elapsed for each team during each side of the detour.

I also think this should have been a non-elimination leg, even if that seems like the predictable move on the part of the producers. I don't care very much for late-season non-elimination legs anyway (and it feels like that's where this season must be headed, though this is just my speculation), and as it is, five teams are already out of the race, despite the fact that there have been only three elimination points. At the very least, I would have liked to have seen the number of legs catch up to the number of teams who started but are no longer in the race.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Hera

[PaperTree]

52 minutes ago, watch2much said:

plus, in addition to her being out of shape, they were 8000 miles up so breathing was even more difficult.

I've felt the altitude in Denver and 11,000 ft in Quito, Ecuador was, ahem, challenging.  Now I'm at 160 ft in South Jersey, the highest ground around😎 (1803 is the highest in the state, at the top corner)

1 hour ago, greyhorse said:

Disagree.  The girls kept talking about "all girl" team winning all the time.

And these "all girl"  alliances often devolve into an ugly cat fight.

[vousviou]

2 hours ago, greyhorse said:

, so maybe she played power forward.  Akbar looks like he could have been a power forward as well.  She could also have played catcher on a softball team.  "Division 1 athlete" doesn't always mean "top physical fitness".  I think if she had injuries, we would have heard about them in the interviews

At the Division 1 level it's awfully rare to find any women basketball players who are out of shape, regardless of position. Men either, for that matter.

What is very common is knee injuries for women. A common stat is roughly 4 times as many ACL tears for female as male players, with this article putting the risk of a tear at 5% per year. You can extrapolate what that might mean for someone who plays from middle school through college.

 https://sanantoniosportsmedicine.com/female-acl-injuries-epidemic/

ACL tears have a strong connection to arthritis later in life, in addition to often resulting in permanent loss of at least some function after recovery from surgery. And that's not counting all of the other chronic injuries that hit serious basketball players female or male -- foot problems, back pain, concussions, degenerated hips.... Basketball isn't as brutal as football, but it can take a big toll.

As far as knowing about any injuries, the season Amy and Maya won it was clear something was off with Amy, but it was only revealed in an off camera interview after the last episode that Amy had two stress fractures in her pelvis and was being treated with pain killers all the way around the world. I don't think there's a good reason to believe by default we would know if Sheri has some underlying health issue that affects her fitness, and I'm not sure it's fair to assume (not saying it's you, just that it's out there) that she just wasn't taking this seriously.

Edited January 20, 2022 by vousviou

[aghst]

1 hour ago, RunningMarket said:

8000 mile is roughly the circumference of the Earth - so yes, breathing would certainly be difficult 8000 miles above sea level. I believe you mean meters. 😉

With so many gym closures and various lockdown restrictions, I will give someone a bit of slack when it comes to cardio. I know mine personally has taken a bit of a hit in the past 2 years just due to having to work out at home most of the time (I live in a condo, so it's not like I can run laps). But 19 months is certainly enough time to at least work on the other issues their team is suffering from.

8000 feet.  8000 meters would be like 24,000 feet or more.

Yeah I haven't been in a gym in 2 years though they're open now.

I just did walks keeping my heart rate up.  But we don't know what became of their jobs, if they're teachers and had to deal with closures and remote learning and also taking care of their own kids, maybe their daily responsibilities are too great for putting in a lot of time to train.

Maybe they don't have much expectations of winning, just want free trip or two.

Edited January 20, 2022 by aghst

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, bankerchick said:

Did I mishear or did one of the women refer to them as 'Ryan and Rusty?' 

Phil jokingly asked which all-male team they'd like to beat, and one of them smiled and said, "Rhymes with Rusty" . . . .

[bearcatfan]

I finished Kim and Penn’s podcast and they mentioned that there was a speed bump the returning teams had to complete after they did the detour. That may be why both of those teams went in a different direction. 
 

I also watched some more of the extra clips and Penn/Kim and the all girl teams all commented on how worried they were for Sheri while talking to Phil. Ryan and Dusty may have as well, I don’t really recall. 
 

Mike and Moe dropped part of the detour clue and didn’t realize it until they were driving. It didn’t look like they went back for it. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by bearcatfan

[ProfCrash]

Just listened to Kim and Penn’s Podcast. There was a speed bump that was not shown. The Signing Cops and Anut and Natalia had to complete it after the belt task. That is where they got lost. If you go on the Paramount Plus app the Thumbnail is Natalia doing the Speed Bump. So yes, there was directional issues but that was not the big hold up. 

They also said that Production tried to place events in uncrowded places and to limit interaction as much as possible. 

[One Imaginary Girl]

I wish Akbar had a friend named Jeff whom he could have raced with.

[greyhorse]

1 hour ago, vousviou said:

As far as knowing about any injuries, the season Amy and Maya won it was clear something was off with Amy, but it was only revealed in an off camera interview after the last episode that Amy had two stress fractures in her pelvis and was being treated with pain killers all the way around the world. I don't think there's a good reason to believe by default we would know if Sheri has some underlying health issue that affects her fitness, and I'm not sure it's fair to assume (not saying it's you, just that it's out there) that she just wasn't taking this seriously.

YMMV.  In my opinion, if somebody volunteers personal information like "I'm afraid of heights" when talking about how it's going to affect her performance on the task, I would also think it would be natural to say "And, oh, by the way, I've had two total hip replacements in the last five years" or "I just tore my meniscus while training for this race".  What's more likely?  That she's not physically fit or that she is hiding an injury?

And if she doesn't have the time and/or the desire to train or to get in better shape, then that's her prerogative.  But it doesn't endear her to me. I've been wanting to be on this show ever since the first season and I see a couple that is squandering an opportunity because they aren't physically prepared to race.  It doesn't help that Akbar isn't really sympathetic or offered to do things like carry her backpack when she was struggling in the first or second leg.

[PaperTree]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Yeah I haven't been in a gym in 2 years though they're open now.

LOL!  I haven't been in a gym since 1977.

[blackwing]

3 hours ago, Netfoot said:

I think it was left out because it wasn't relevant to the race. They had the whole restart thing to present, and wouldn't want to spend more time going through the separate reasons for the non-return of the missing four.

 

It would have taken maybe 30 seconds for Phil to indicate why teams couldn’t come back.  I would have much rather heard about them than hearing the Twin Twits talk about dead grandma and see a video flashback clip, or hearing Penn talk about how he misses his kids and they are showing the kids how to finish what was started, or hearing about how the flight attendants got fired.
 

It’s interesting how/why they choose to showcase some racer’s personal lives and ignore others.  Apparently Dusty is married and has a baby.  Not sure if he had the baby before or after Part Two was filmed, but why nothing about how he misses his baby (or his pregnant wife)?   And yet we have seen Kim and Penn pajama butt wiggling and hear about their kids all the time?  Yes I know that their videos is what makes them semi-famous, but still.  

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

Just like Frank and Margarita!

Or Tara and Wil.  One of these days I will do a marathon rewatch starting from TAR Classic, Season 1.

[Starchild]

Penn reminds me of a Labrador Retriever, and I can't dislike that.

[bankerchick]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Phil jokingly asked which all-male team they'd like to beat, and one of them smiled and said, "Rhymes with Rusty" . . . .

OK, I did mishear.  Not surprising given that I don't really have any interest in them.

3 hours ago, RunningMarket said:

8000 mile is roughly the circumference of the Earth

The circumference of the Earth is approx. 25000 miles.

[ML89]

6 hours ago, Taeolas said:

I'm sure TAR could arrange sponsorship deals with Samsung or some other phone company to provide phones for everyone (to make sure its fair) and each leg/new country they could get SIM cards for local data access (but no phone calling) and make it part of the race. (I'm pretty sure they've had stages in the past where they've had to take selfies with the Travelocity Gnome, so that's 2 sponsorship birds with one task :) )

As an IPhone user, this would be a hindrance to me 😉 but honestly, I am terrible with with the GPS based navigation. I have a phone and watch to get me places and on long trips I will still print out paper directions, I find it easier to use when driving. Also, you could hand people a phone and if they don’t know how to navigate or use the Internet to their advantage, it would be like putting them in a manual shift car. 

Regardless of Sheri’s fitness level, coming from sea level up to that high is going to affect you. I think she could have possibly gotten in better shape but there’s still that. 
 

Thanks for the intel on why the other teams didn’t return  I hope they get a chance again if they want it  

 

[greyhorse]

27 minutes ago, blackwing said:

It would have taken maybe 30 seconds for Phil to indicate why teams couldn’t come back.  I would have much rather heard about them than hearing the Twin Twits talk about dead grandma and see a video flashback clip, or hearing Penn talk about how he misses his kids and they are showing the kids how to finish what was started, or hearing about how the flight attendants got fired.
 

It’s interesting how/why they choose to showcase some racer’s personal lives and ignore others.  Apparently Dusty is married and has a baby.  Not sure if he had the baby before or after Part Two was filmed, but why nothing about how he misses his baby (or his pregnant wife)?   And yet we have seen Kim and Penn pajama butt wiggling and hear about their kids all the time?  Yes I know that their videos is what makes them semi-famous, but still.  

Or Tara and Wil.  One of these days I will do a marathon rewatch starting from TAR Classic, Season 1.

Well, Penn and Kim are arguably the most attractive team on the race, and they do have 5 million YouTube and Facebook followers with their videos being watched 1 billion times.  They are the definition of what casting directors look for.

I think Phil didn't spend time on why the other teams weren't back because he's showing respect to the ones that did make it back.  So it makes sense to spend time learning about what's new in the racers lives who are on the show, and to heck with the ones that didn't come back.  We can all google as to why they didn't.

The expressions on the racers' faces when Indian dad and daughter and the cops came whooping and hollering out seemed to indicate that they weren't pleased that the two teams returned.  Kudos to imprisoned guy and Kim for diplomatically welcoming them back.  I don't think any of them were excited to see them back.

[mertensia]

3 hours ago, PaperTree said:

I've felt the altitude in Denver and 11,000 ft in Quito, Ecuador was, ahem, challenging.  Now I'm at 160 ft in South Jersey, the highest ground around😎 (1803 is the highest in the state, at the top corner)

And these "all girl"  alliances often devolve into an ugly cat fight.

As I mentioned up thread I've been on the teleferico in Merida, Venezuela. The top station is at 15,633 feet. The first time we went most of the family was fine, but one of us couldn't handle the elevation very well and needed some oxygen (they had oxygen tanks for tourists). No rhyme or reason. Some people handle elevations better than others. 

[ProfCrash]

Penn said that they had told Phil what they did during the Pandemic and it was boring, make silly videos, singing songs, and hang with their kids, so it didn’t make the cut. 

[RunningMarket]

48 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

OK, I did mishear.  Not surprising given that I don't really have any interest in them.

The circumference of the Earth is approx. 25000 miles.

I misinterpreted the quick Google link I saw. Apparently it's around 8000-ish miles in diameter Anyway, mea culpa for the mistake.

[greyhorse]

13 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Penn said that they had told Phil what they did during the Pandemic and it was boring, make silly videos, singing songs, and hang with their kids, so it didn’t make the cut. 

Yes.  And likely made a ton of money from all the views.  They have a hilarious Peloton video that's been viewed more than 8 million times.

But it's more compelling tv to hear about a grandmother dying, people losing their jobs, etc.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Sheri is 44 according to the Internet. So 23 years removed from her Division I days. A fair amount of years and (I believe) two kids is enough to get out of shape for even a driven person. I will continue to be not particularly fair to Akbar in saying that it would not surprise me that living with him (if he is at all like he is on the Race in his private life) could lead to depression and additional fitness issues.

[bankerchick]

3 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

But it's more compelling tv to hear about a grandmother dying, people losing their jobs, etc.

I'm not sure if you're being serious or facetious, but I don't find it compelling to listen to someone talk about losing their grandparents.  No offense and I'm sure they loved her, but it's not like it was their sister, or even their mother.  Grandmothers are often old, and sometimes they die.  The fact it was covid-related doesn't make it any more tragic and it seemed like they spent a looonnnggg time talking about it, especially since we had no time to talk about Kim and Penn's boring life or about the couple who couldn't come back because they had a baby.

[ProfCrash]

14 minutes ago, greyhorse said:

Yes.  And likely made a ton of money from all the views.  They have a hilarious Peloton video that's been viewed more than 8 million times.

But it's more compelling tv to hear about a grandmother dying, people losing their jobs, etc.

Penn and Kim were cast because they have videos with 8 million videos, I have watched all their Peloton videos and well, pretty much everything else. They make me laugh and god knows I needed something to laugh at. And my ADHD self loves the 3 minute long chunks they post in. 

That said “We used the Pandemic to focus on growing our social media money making machine” is less likely to make the air then “Our Grandma died” because one hits the heart strings and the other reminds us that it is kind of crazy that people can make that much money from making ridiculous videos. 

 

[bearcatfan]

56 minutes ago, mertensia said:

As I mentioned up thread I've been on the teleferico in Merida, Venezuela. The top station is at 15,633 feet. The first time we went most of the family was fine, but one of us couldn't handle the elevation very well and needed some oxygen (they had oxygen tanks for tourists). No rhyme or reason. Some people handle elevations better than others. 

I exercise 5 days a week and am relatively healthy. We vacationed in Colorado this summer and stayed at an elevation of over 11,000 feet. I usually hydrate well but didn’t during travel to avoid using the bathroom on the plane. Until I got rehydrated, I had a headache and felt out of sorts. Others would get out of breath. 

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, One Imaginary Girl said:

I wish Akbar had a friend named Jeff whom he could have raced with.

I just wish someone would explain this to my poor, tired brain...

2 hours ago, PaperTree said:

I haven't been in a gym since 1977.

I've never been in a gym! When I feel like getting in better shape, I walk around the neighborhood for an hour each day, eat keto and stop watching pr0n.

[chaifan]

After any Racer mentions the same thing 2 or 3 times I've learned to just tune it out, because there's a 99% chance that that repeated bit is all production prompted.  From the female teams "girl power, let's beat the boys" bit to Akbar's "I should have done this task", I figure both were prompted by production.

So instead I look for other signs to see if that's their true personality.  For Akbar, it's his full treatment of Sheri that bothers me.  Once she finished the climb and opened the clue he just turned and walked away from her, getting pretty far ahead, almost out of frame.  He just left her trailing behind, after she did that freaking roadblock!  Even without the "I should have done this" comments, he's so dismissive of her in every way.

With the flight attendants, they're not "Girl Power! Yeah!" every minute on camera, so I think that's more production driven narrative.  TAR has done that with every all female team I can think of, and it's getting tiring. 

I also thought it was rather cringy of Phil to ask Natalia how her husband felt about her "leaving him" to return to the race.  This isn't 1952, Phil.  (And, as someone noted above, one of the guys got married in the interim.  We didn't see Phil ask him how his wife felt about him leaving.) 

I really wish they wouldn't completely edit out tasks, especially when it has a bearing on the race.  If the 2 eliminated teams had a speed bump, that should have been stated up front.  Yeah, I know, there are time limits to every episode, but they could montage it down to 30 seconds each, or drive some clicks to the website with a "See the full Speed Bump on cbs.com".  To completely edit it out was misleading to the viewers. 

OK, I can't criticize too much, because I just am so grateful to have TAR back, in any form.  Minor quibbles here, really. 

[QuantumMechanic]

2 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

I just wish someone would explain this to my poor, tired brain...

Matt Groening's pre-Simpsons comic strip Life in Hell had two fez-wearing characters named Akbar and Jeff.

("At night the ice weasels come...")

Edited January 21, 2022 by QuantumMechanic