Amsterdam Proves to be a Trying Challenge for the Poker Players

After watching Ericka & Brian fumble their way through this leg of the Race, and then incur a 30-minute penalty and still not get eliminated, I guess the gods were smiling on them - and not on Maria & Tiffany, whose lack of arm strength pretty much killed their shot at winning the Race.

The last Pit Stop was the palm tree-shaped island that I remember seeing being built (on some Discovery Channel show) in Dubai. Pretty impressive, that’s one thing I’d like to see in person - of course, that’s after I hit the lottery!

The teams are told to fly to Amsterdam and find a monument on a thruway between Holland and Netherlands. Leaving first, Meghan & Cheyne found out the earliest flight leaves at midnight. Sam says that he has a degree in anthropology and studying other cultures has helped him in the Race. Dan says he’s the “street smart” brother. All the teams meet up at the airport, and they ask the Globetrotters what happened with Mika & Canaan. Big Easy tells them that they were egging her on, telling her “if you don’t feel comfortable, don’t do it.” He said that he felt bad that she was crying, but “we didn’t want to go home either.” Sam & Dan then feel it’s the right time to “come out” to the other teams - they tell them “we are the token gay team.” Brian laughs and says “now the matching bathing suits make sense!” Maria & Tiffany interview that they don’t care who Sam & Dan choose to date, even though they might shed a little tear that it’s not them. Gary pipes up “should I tell Matt he’s adopted now?” and everyone cracks up. It’s nice to see all the teams actually look like they like each other, even for a little while!

In Amsterdam, Brian can’t get the car to shift into drive (or anything else). Ericka is losing it because according to her, Brian’s attitude gives her attitude, and “you know I have a short fuse.” They find a guy in the parking garage that shows them how to do it and finally get going. The teams get to the monument and grab the clue, telling them to go to Martinitoren, the highest building in the city, and search for the next clue. The first five teams are pretty much even, mentioning that they didn’t see Ericka & Brian. Flight Time says that they know when Ericka & Brian are around, because they hear Ericka screeching “BRIAN!” and of course, the next thing we see is Ericka yelling “Brian!” as they run to the monument.

The next clue is a Roadblock, asking “who’s got strong legs and keen eyes?” making me think they’re gonna have to run up a lot of steps. Yep! The team member to perform this task has to run up the “narrow, winding steps” and correctly count the number of bells (62) to get their next clue. Meghan decides to do it, and Sam (I think, I’m still not sure which brother is which) is right behind her, and they’re going to help each other and count together. Flight Time and Matt choose to do the task for their teams, and Tiffany follows them. Ericka & Brian finally pull up and Ericka takes off up the steps. As Meghan, Sam and Matt get up to the top the bells start ringing, and they can’t hear themselves think, much less what the other is saying. Matt counts quickly and heads down the steps, getting the count correctly.

The clue tells them to drive to Vierhuizen De Marne and find a windmill for their next clue. Sam whispered the number of bells to Tiffany as she ran up and he ran down. He thought it was a good idea because “they’re a team we can beat.” Meghan & Cheyne and Sam & Dan pay a cab driver to follow to the town, and end up passing Gary & Matt, who had stopped for directions. Flight Time gets the correct number and Brian watches them leave, muttering “come on, baby, don’t give up” under his breath. Unfortunately, Ericka shows 43 to the bell player and something tells me they’re going home tonight!

The clue at the Windmill is a Detour, Farmer’s Game or Farmer’s Dance. They are both examples of how the hardworking farmers unwind after a hard day’s work. The teams must change into traditional Dutch costumes for either task and ride bicycles to the challenge. For Farmer’s Game, the teams must “strip down to their farmer’s underwear” and swim across a creek. They grab a set of clubs and taking turns, play three holes of Farmer’s Golf, finishing each hole in 8 strokes or less to get their next clue. They’ll have to keep playing until they manage to get the holes done under the 8 strokes. For Farmer’s Dance, they have to find a country festival where one team member has to ring the bell on a carnival midway-type game - the one where you use a sledgehammer and try to hit the bell on the top. Then they have to go into the barn and perform a traditional dance. Once they are okayed on the dance, they will be served salted herring and onions (which looks huge and semi-raw and not all that appetizing, and I like fish!) They’ll get their clue when they finish the fish. Sam & Dan and Meghan & Cheyne decide to do the Game, even with Meghan protesting that she can’t golf. Matt & Gary decide to try the Dance. Each set of costumes has one male and one female outfit, and Gary gets stuck with the female outfit - and looks cute in the little hat!

Ericka’s next guess back at the bell tower is 56 and off she goes again to count. Sam & Dan are cracking up riding their bikes, one with a dress and a falsetto voice. Maria & Tiffany decide to try the Dance also. Sam & Dan get to the creek, strip down and take their shoes as they jump into the creek, complaining of the cold water. Meghan & Cheyne are right behind. Sam & Dan make the required 8 shots on the first hole.

Ericka’s next guess at the bell tower is 57. (Some team really has to screw up for Ericka & Brian to stay in the Race - or it’s a non-elimination leg).

Matt & Gary get to the dancing barn, and Matt rings the bell and they go inside to watch the dancing. We see Gary in his cute little dress and hat practicing the moves as he watches, then they cut to an interview clip where all Matt & Gary are doing is cracking up. (Me too!) As we see Maria (the boy) and Tiffany ride off on their bikes, Ericka comes back down in tears to Brian, saying she’s not giving up but “it’s so hard.”

Sam & Dan get hole #2 in 8 shots, and Meghan & Cheyne go back to hole #1 for the third time. Sam & Dan breeze through hole #3 and get their clue which tells them to bike through town to Zoutkamp Harbor, which is the Pit Stop. Meghan is complaining about golfing, and doing really pathetic (so I can see her point). They finally get their act together and manage to get hole #1 in 6 shots.

Gary & Matt are at the barn and Gary is getting his lesson, and Matt happens to read the clue really well, seeing that they have to eat herring after. He hates fish so they take off to try the Golf challenge. In the meantime, Meghan & Cheyne have gotten the hang of golfing and finish their 3 holes. Maria & Tiffany get to the Dancing task and neither can hit the bell with numerous tries.

Ericka gives the counting another shot, and goes to the bell ringer one more time. She’s nervously giggling, and the bell guy says “you’re laughing.” Ericka tells him “might as well,” saying she already cried but he just didn’t see that. This time she gets the count right and they take off in the car praying they don’t get eliminated.

Sam & Dan, the cute Netherlands couple, get to the Mat first, where Phil asks them “you guys like dressing up like this?” and they answer “no, we’re not that kind of gay guys.”

Flight Time dresses as the woman, saying “we look like some kinda buffoons” as they ride the bikes along the road. Meanwhile, Maria & Tiffany are on their thirtieth try at ringing the bell and they decide to go hit some golf balls. Flight Time gets the bell on the first try and as they walk into the dance barn, the tiny, little old ladies give them a look that makes me laugh. As Meghan & Cheyne get to the Mat, Brian & Ericka finally make it to the windmill clue box and decide to Dance. As they walk off in their costumes and wooden shoes, they walk right past the bikes.

Flight Time & Big Easy were having a great time dancing, putting a little hip action into their routine. They chest bump at the end and all the ladies clap for them, then laugh as they’re eating the fish. Flight Time looks like he’s ready to upchuck but manages to finish the herring. Brian & Ericka end up walking down the road to the next challenge, and Maria & Tiffany have given up on the golfing as Gary & Matt finish their three holes. Maria & Tiffany are on attempt 50 to ring the bell and hug each other crying. At this rate, Brian & Ericka may catch up but get penalized for not riding the bikes - who knows what’s gonna happen? As they walk down the path, Brian reads the clue and finds out they were supposed to pick up bikes. They’re both complaining about walking in those shoes - at this point, though, I would have just taken them off (since they knew they weren’t supposed to be walking).

The Globetrotters get to the Mat in third place and Phil tells them “you look ridiculous.” I really like these guys, they have a great attitude and have fun. As we see Ericka & Brian bicker their way back to the bikes, Maria & Tiffany are on attempt #71 at ringing the bell and decide to go back to golfing. Brain & Ericka get to the barn and ring the bell on try one. They perked up quite a bit dancing and interview that “it brought us back down to earth” and “I fell in love with him all over again.” They leave the dance hall and borrow two bikes from some campers to get to the Pit Stop, where they find out they’re Team #5 to arrive, but they get a 30-minute penalty for not riding a bike to the Detour challenge.

Maria & Tiffany are trying their best to golf, and getting nowhere, while Ericka stresses on the bench. After the attempts at ringing the bell and golfing, Maria & Tiffany have nothing left in their arms to golf with and just can’t keep it up. They see Phil walking over to them on the golf “course” and tell him that they’re not giving up, but they have to quit because they don’t see how they would be able to finish the challenge. I guess they should have done a little more weight lifting instead of card lifting and their arms may not have given out!

So here’s the finish order:

1 - Sam & Dan
2 - Meghan & Cheyne
3 - Flight Time & Big Easy
4 - Gary & Matt
5 - Brian & Ericka
6 - Maria & Tiffany (eliminated)

So who is looking like they have a shot to win? Will Ericka & Brian turn it around? Are Meghan & Cheyne going to stay at the top? We’ll see next week!