Running Through Sweden and the Dreaded Hay Challenge

The teams leave the Pit Stop at a harbor in Holland. Sam & Dan leave first and find out they have to fly to Stockholm, Sweden. Once there, they will travel by train and a ferry to Tivoli Grona Lund Amusement Park and find the tallest ride (that looks like a Demon Drop). Flight Time & Big Easy say that it’s Flight Time’s birthday and they’d love to come in first this leg - an omen, you think?

At the airport, Meghan & Cheyne note there are two flights leaving for Stockholm - one at 6:55 a.m. and one at 9:25 a.m. They run into Sam & Dan and find the ticket counter, which doesn’t open until 5:30 a.m. The Globetrotters and Gary & Matt join them to spend the night in the airport, and Brian & Ericka arrive to wait also. Sam & Dan, Meghan & Cheyne and Flight Time & Big Easy make the first flight, but Gary & Matt and Brian & Ericka can’t get tickets and have to fly at 9:25.

Once in Stockholm, Sam & Dan and Meghan & Cheyne get train tickets upstairs at the tickets kiosks, while Flight Time & Big Easy run down to the train entrance to get theirs - but end up missing the train. The two teams get on the ferry and see the tall ride and race to the clue box. The clue says one member of the team must ride the Fritt Fall, and while going up look for an arrow which will point them in the direction of the next clue box. The arrow is visible for only 15 seconds before the ride plunges 24 stories in less than 3 seconds. Sam and Cheyne decide to work together and they spot the arrow. The clue tells them to play a game of Roaming Gnome Ring Toss. They have to throw rings onto gnome hats and hope the one they ring has a Roaming Gnome under it. They will have to keep the gnome with them throughout this leg of the Race. Their next clue will be on the bottom of the gnome.

The clue is a Detour. Since Sweden is known for Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and the Vikings, the teams will choose either Nobel Dynamite or Viking Alphabet. In Dynamite, teams must fill sandbags and build a protective bunker in a rock quarry, then set off an explosion which will uncover a box containing their next clue. In Viking Alphabet, teams must decode a message using the Viking alphabet and find a Viking to get their next clue. Both lead teams decide to do the dynamite.

Flight Time rides the Fritt Fall and then tosses rings. He can’t seem to get one hooked, and Big Easy throws one (maybe through the magic of editing) and gets it. However, no gnome under the hat. Their second try gets a gnome and they also decide to Detour to the dynamite.

Brian & Ericka and Gary & Matt land in Stockholm and get to the train station, but it takes Gary & Matt longer to get their tickets and they miss the train.

Driving to the Detour, Meghan & Cheyne get a local to go ahead so the teams can follow him. Flight Time & Big Easy are driving, trying to decide what to name the gnome. They come up with Sweet Pea (nixed by Big Easy - “that’s dumb”) and Louisiana Shorty (nixed by Flight Time as being too ghetto). Gary & Matt are stressing because they lost 15 minutes waiting for the next train. At the amusement park, Brian is afraid of heights so Ericka gets to ride the Fritt Fall by default, and spots the arrow right away. Ericka gets their gnome at the ring toss pretty quickly and Brian says “the guy is supposed to win his girl something at the fair, not the other way around.” Matt rides up and sees the arrow and they run off to the ring toss, getting the gnome.

As Meghan & Cheyne and Sam & Dan get their safety gear on, the Globetrotters drive up. They do a little trash talking “Did your fans help you get here?” Big Easy answers “now you hurt our feelings, we’re gonna blow ya’ll up.” Sam & Dan use their hands rather than the little shovels to fill their sandbags, thinking they’d be quicker, and it seemed to work pretty well.

Brian & Ericka pay a cabbie to lead them to the Detour, while we see Gary & Matt driving around naming Swedish streets and getting lost.

Sam & Dan get to blast the dynamite first and seems really pumped about it. (I guess you had to be there, I don’t see the big deal). They find their box and the clue tells them to drive to Bogs Gard Farm, which is the place of a task from another season - where they have to find a clue in the gazillion bales of hay in the field. That was the task that Lena & Kristy spent over 10 hours on and Phil came out to the field to tell them to just give up and go home. (Admired their tenacity, but glad Phil stopped them!)

Meghan & Cheyne are slow at bagging the sand and the Globetrotters get ahead. Meghan complains as they drive away that they didn’t have good teamwork. She begged Cheyne to work with her more and he didn’t listen, as he tries to tell her it’s over and not to worry about it. (I can see his point, they’re still in it with two teams behind - but then, they may have gotten out quicker had he paid a little more attention. I guess I’m just gonna be wishy-washy tonight).

Gary & Matt finally stop and ask for directions as Brian & Ericka begin sandbagging. Ericka complains that the gravel is getting into her nails, then interviews that she “can’t even think about beauty - if I’m dirty and stinky, I don’t care because I just want to win.” Great for her, but what about the people she’s crammed on a train with? More bad pub for Americans! (Heehee)

Sam & Dan get to the farm first, followed closely by Meghan & Cheyne. The clue is a Roadblock, and it's the exact same one that Lena & Kristy spent almost 10 hours doing in seasons past. (I know they're at home watching and shuddering). One team member must search through 186 hay bales to find one of seven Race flags to go forward - and the Pit Stop is at the farm where they are searching. Sam bravely offers to do the task as Dan yells encouragement and instruction from the side and Sam tells him to “shut up” on numerous occasions. Meghan & Cheyne read the clue and feel overwhelmed by the task, so much that Cheyne refuses to answer Meghan when she asks “who’s gonna do this?” she tells him she’s going to do it. Dan keeps yelling and Sam is ready to clobber him. Big Easy & Flight Time show up and Big Easy is easily pushing the hay bales around.

Gary & Matt show up to the dynamite challenge as Brian & Ericka are getting finished, and do a great job of catching up. From what it looked like, they’re only a few minutes behind.

Dan yells at Sam that he’s taking too long looking though the hay, and Sam remarks that “he doesn’t realize that I stopped listening to him about ten years ago.” Big Easy laughs that “we didn’t have no hay in the projects.” Flight Time cheers as Big Easy finds the flag, and Sam complains that “they’re the luckiest team in the Race.” Flight Time yells as they race to the Mat “it’s my birthday!” Happy Birthday, Flight Time, you guys get first!

Brian & Ericka arrive at the farm and Matt & Gary are right behind. Sam and Meghan are bumming big time that the other teams have caught up, and Meghan cries that she “can’t do this any more.” Matt should be doing this task (with his big body) but Gary decides to do it. Ericka doesn’t give Brian a choice (not that I blame her!) and tells him he’s doing it. The team members that are not doing the challenge all talk about how this is a challenge from another season and it took one team "like 8 hours" to do it. Dan yells encouragement to Sam and once again gets told to “Shut up.” Brian yells to Dan that “it’s harder than it looks.” Meghan finds a flag and decides to pull a fast one on Cheyne, as she runs toward him crying that she can’t do it any more and then pulls out the flag. Cheyne is impressed and tells Phil at the Mat that he’s so proud that Meghan is his partner on this Race and “my partner for life.” (Brownie points to Cheyne!)

Brian finds a flag as Ericka cheers and they make it to the Mat in third. Sam sits for a quick rest...they’ve been there the longest and he’s exhausted. Dan screams more encouragement as Sam finally finds a flag. He tells Dan he’s just exhausted but offers to race him to the Mat. Dan is crying at the Mat, saying he was being a jerk for yelling at Sam and he’s really proud of his brother.

Gary is over an hour into the task and he interviews that to give up would be to give up on the Race, and he wasn’t going to do that. “I’ve got a pretty strong work ethic” to which Matt says “pretty strong?” Matt hates sitting on the side feeling helpless. After over 2½ hours, Gary finally gets a flag and they head to the Mat. Phil tells them that it’s a non-elimination leg and they’ll have to complete a Speed Bump on the next leg. Matt remarks that “my dad is superman.”

I think it’s a great thing that after this task, it’s a non-elimination leg. After all that work pushing the hay around, the teams deserve the little perk.

Here’s the order of finish:

1 - Flight Time & Big Easy
2 - Meghan & Cheyne
3 - Brian & Ericka
4 - Sam & Dan
5 - Gary & Matt - non-elimination leg (but they get a Speed Bump on the next leg)

So do you think Gary & Matt can overcome the Speed Bump? Are the Globetrotters hitting their stride, and maybe becoming too tough to beat? Tell me what you think!