S26.E09: Can I Get A Hot Tub

[Netfoot]

I think they both kinda suck, but actually, cycling in front of someone else sort of is the gentlemanly thing to do, because you're breaking the resistance of the air for them, and they end up expending a lot less energy.

 

I thought riding in front was like going first up the stairs.  It's the gentlemanly thing to climb the stairs first, so as not to catch a glimpse of her ankles.  And it's the gentlemanly thing not to ride behind, and stare at her backside the entire way.

 

But maybe I'm just old and weird.

[BarneySays]

I thought riding in front was like going first up the stairs.  It's the gentlemanly thing to climb the stairs first, so as not to catch a glimpse of her ankles.

 

 

Not to go off on a tangent, but I was focusing more on his setting the pace for them than on riding in front of her.  I would think the gentlemanly thing to do would be to let her set the pace.  I think the comment was meant as a sly joke.  Also, the one area in which Hayley seems slow is in her movement.  She appears to lumber and seems frequently to be on her last leg, yet she gets through the physical challenges without much drama.  So, who knows?  I thought he was really trying to make her move more quickly than she might like to do.  Also, I didn't mean my offhanded comment as a slam at Blair for not being chivalrous.   

[Guest]

Or they should have had the letter I in different fonts, so it wouldn't look so much like roman numerals.

 

Or they should have had two eyes.  Then J/J could have asked the judge "Is it the Retina Skating Rink? The Pupil Skating Rink?  The Cornea Skating Rink? The Cataract Skating Rink, one eye looked cloudy?"

Ha, I like those.  My daughter said the clue should've been this:

 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[Eggman]

He should ride in front of her because if they are riding single file, it's easier for other riders to pass.  If you ride side by side you're hogging the whole bike lane, which is inconsiderate to others.

[blackwing]

I thought riding in front was like going first up the stairs.  It's the gentlemanly thing to climb the stairs first, so as not to catch a glimpse of her ankles.  And it's the gentlemanly thing not to ride behind, and stare at her backside the entire way.

 

But maybe I'm just old and weird.

It's 2015, we are no longer in the Victorian age.  I don't think any guy would ever think "hey, I should let her climb the stairs first so I can see her ankles" or "I want to ride my bike behind hers so I can look at her derriere!"  To me, it should be about practicality.  Blair went first because he wanted to lead the way.  Unfortunately, he didn't know where he was going and she complained he was going either too fast or too slow.  Once she started with the complaints about the speed, I would have let her go first.  Also, so I can more easily keep an eye on her.  When my wife and I drive two separate cars somewhere, or when I bike with one of my kids, I always let them go in front of me, so I can make sure they are OK.

[kili]

When my wife and I drive two separate cars somewhere, or when I bike with one of my kids, I always let them go in front of me, so I can make sure they are OK.

 

Who checks if you're OK?

 

IDK. They are two people in a race and I don't believe that Haley is an incapable child who needs to be monitored at all times. If she has any sort of trouble, Haley has amply demonstrated her ability to loudly indicate that she requires attention.

 

If you ride side by side you're hogging the whole bike lane, which is inconsiderate to others.

 

Exactly. Especially when you consider they are towing a film crew along with them that is also taking up space. Imagine trying to get around two side-by-side bikes and whatever is being used to transport the film crew. You probably have to head off into opposing traffic to pass them if they ride side-by-side.

 

Unfortunately, he didn't know where he was going

 

He went past one turn. When navigating a strange city for the first time, I would call that a good day. Add in that it is one of those organically grown European cities (i.e. the roads can be rather higgly-piggly and aren't grid patterns with increasing ordinal Ave/Street names), he had just gotten off a transcontinental flight,  he isn't looking for a popular site and he's being followed around by a ranting nag, I think missing only one turn is amazing.

[needschocolate]

I have heard that if you can't talk while you jog or walk or exercise, then you are working too hard and should slow down.  Haley had no trouble talking/yelling at Blair when they were riding, so they probably weren't going too fast for her.  

 

She may have wanted him to ride next to her so she could be sure he heard her yelling, but I am thinking that she was just looking for something to complain about.  Since she had no proof of being lost or wasting time, she had to yell about him riding too fast or in front.  

 

I wondered why Blair rode in front since it would give her something to blame on him if they took a wrong turn, but then I realized that it is harder to hear your partner if you are in front of them.  Also, I wouldn't be surprised if she told him to lead (how else can she blame him when something goes wrong?).

 

I used to try to give her the benefit of the doubt (it's fatigue, he is ignoring her, etc), but now I am just done with her harping.

[egnever]

Oh, I still think Blair's a dismissive jerk.  But Hayley is also a screeching harpy.  The two aren't mutually exclusive.

Oh, they frequently are mutually exclusive.

 

I don't think you realize just how many normally patient and understanding men would turn into 'dismissive jerks' if you pair them up with a stranger that screeches at them incessantly. If Blair really was that dismissive, he would have driven off without her in Germany.

[anhydrite]

[...] whatever is being used to transport the film crew. You probably have to head off into opposing traffic to pass them if they ride side-by-side.

The crew was traveling by scooter, we could see them during the ferry ride (and I also saw at least one glimpse of a scooter windshield during a "regular" filming sequence).

 

Throw me tomatoes if you want, but for some reason I think Blair and Hayley have a very interesting dynamic. Yes Hayley is a screeching Harpy, and Blair seems to take pleasure in making her mad (I saw your little smug smile there Blair), but when they're not arguing they go along pretty well, being dorks with one another and generally seeming to have fun, like their pseudo-fight at the mat (like me and a friend of mine who are constantly teasing each other). Kinda weird that one moment we see Hayley screaming her lungs out, then ten minutes later she's back in having fun on the race. Comparatively, I find Tyler and Laura to have a more "serious" friend relationship (not bad, just not dorky like B/H), and Jelani and Jenny seem somewhat distant towards one another. Maybe Jelani is going nuts too over his type-A+ partner.

 

Blair can't be a doctor, his writing is too legible for that.

 

I died when, at the Roadblock, Ashley said to Matt: "you got tunnel vision" and he responded "no, I'm just an idiot". I guess that's rule #729 of the Race: do not panic, ever. Taking some time to cool off  and rethink your strategy can never be a bad thing. Who knows how long he's been there.

 

Those impersonators at the shuffleboard detour were just GREAT. I love it when we have people so invested in their roles. Nice costumes, great mood, lots of life and encouragements, I wouls have loved to do that side of the detour just to have them around (But I would have done the shuffleboard anyways. Seems fun, and I don't like hot tubs all that much.)

 

Good to see a biking leg, it's rare we see contestants bike around the whole leg. There's been a whole bunch of self-navigation for the past few legs, and that's much more interesting to see that endless taxi races.

 

Schiphol airport, I've been there a couple of times. Although I really need to find some way of getting out of the airport other than by plane. Amsterdam is so nice a city, and I heard the peole there are very kind. If I ever have the opportunity to study abroad, I know which country to choose.

 

I was a bit dissapointed that women at the klompen roadblock didn't get to wear the traditional femal dutch outfit. And how was that woman knitting? She was holding her needles from below. Never seen that before.

 

What else to say? Oh, I think the clues at the hot tug were funnily done. Except maybe for the five I's (that some people still found easily enough), we got some good wrong answers. Roman, 5 I's, rblot, rsplat, square root of 64 is 6, phone minus R (well, that's still phone?). Next destination: Roman 5 Is Sk6phone-r rblot. Yep.

 

Enjoyable episode I say.

[La Dee Da]

While I didn't care for the "dramatic" discussion about the U-Turn at the dinner, it was really nice to get an old school Eat/Sleep/Mingle segment. I had come to think that everyone was sequestered off on their own as soon as possible, and forbidden to talk to each other. I think increased chances to see ESM segments may be the only possible good thing to come out of this Bachelor(ette) edition of TAR.

 

Agreed - I wonder if this was because they couldn't truly sequester them in Namibia without confining them to their tents, or if they've gone back to ESMs in order to encourage more blind dating team interaction or maybe inter-team hook ups (e.g., season 2).   

[fib]

What I have learned most from this episode and the few beforehand is why these people in the blind date couples are single: 

1. They are controlling and unpleasant (Hayley)
2. They are dismissive of others' opinions (Blair... though wouldnt we all be after this?)
3. They are micromanag-y (Jenny)
4. They have overinflated senses of themselves (Jenny and Jelani... 5 I's skating rink? Really? two JDs between you?)
5. They are quitters (whichever Blond of Bergen & Kurt just bailed on his partner)
6. They aren't ready to settle down (Jackie & Jeffery just seem like they are young)

Tyler and Laura seem the least offensive of the bunch, but I'm thinking they may be getting a good edit.  Laura in particular rankles a bit, but I can't figure out why. Tyler seems like a gem, but none of the blind daters seem as mature or grounded as Mike and Rochelle or Matt & Ashley.  

Not that they're super mature, just that they are showing better how to behave in a relationship.  (Sure some of that is that they are invested in the relationship for more than just the race, but also they seem a little more relationship-mature). Everyone else (Tyler & Laura possibly excluded) seems to have some growing up to do before a relationship will work. 

[seacliffsal]

I think that Hayley may end up having to do the last several roadblocks as it seems like she hasn't done very many.  Has anybody been keeping track?  I was really surprised that she didn't take the task finding the shoe.

[kili]

I think that Hayley may end up having to do the last several roadblocks as it seems like she hasn't done very many.  Has anybody been keeping track?

 

They are actually pretty evenly split at 4 for Blair and 3 for Hayley.

Leg 1: No Roadblock

Leg 2: Haley - puzzle box

Leg 3: No Roadblock

Leg 4: Blair - taking apart a clutch

Leg 5: Blair - singing a love song

Leg 6: Haley - chocolates and flowers

Leg 7: Blair - House building

Leg 8: Haley - Skydrop

Leg 9: Blair - Match the shoe.

 

All the women  have done 3 Roadblocks and the men 4.

[seacliffsal]

Kili, thank you so much for posting this.  I thought it was more lopsided...  Interesting that all of the teams have the same statistics.

[Bouquet]

Laura in particular rankles a bit, but I can't figure out why.

 

Laura said in the first episode that she'd been in two LTRs, but never been in love.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Bouquet

[ozlsn]

Remember Brooke and Claire from a few seasons ago?  I thought Brooke's screeching, Claire, Claire! was annoying.  I'd hate to have her and Haley in the same race.  C'mon Claire!  C'mon Blair!  I think my ears couldn't take it.

 

And now I really want to see Brooke and Hayley paired together.  With the mute button on (I said "see", not "hear"!)