Amazing Race: Thinking Smart in Episode 6

Kelly & Jon. This team raced well, getting on the same train as David & Jeff, as well as getting to the laundry at the same time they did. Then they stumbled a bit, taking a bit longer to find their clue, then taking a bus instead of a taxi to the docks. There is a time and a place for saving money by taking public transportation, but this wasn't it. They had some idea of how far behind they were from the leading teams (David & Jeff and Reichen & Chip), but had no idea how far ahead they were ahead of the rest of the teams. Things worked out and they have the additional money without having lost much time, but they should keep the concept of time versus money in mind on future legs.

Millie & Chuck (have used Fast Forward). This team started off well, using a cellphone to secure plane reservations on their way to the airport. They also did well in trying to get seats as close to the front of the plane as possible in order to grab a few minutes’ head start once they reached their destination. It never hurts to ask, and it can give an edge, so it's thinking smart. Millie also was thinking smart when she asked a local to take her and Chuck to the train station, but since bus partners Kelly & Jon and David & Jeff got to the train faster, they did something wrong at that point of the Race. At the laundry, they made the same mistake as Reichen & Chip (and later, Tian & Jaree); failing to look for the color-coded ribbons, and even starting to wash somebody else's laundry before their realized their mistake. They erred again at the fish market (as did Tian & Jaree and Jon & Al, the other teams with them) by not following the instructions, and ended up having to get additional fish of the correct type. They were able to get to the pit stop in front of those two teams, arriving in fourth place.

Tian & Jaree (have used Fast Forward). This team bogged down when they reached Bollywood. Their big problem is that they overpacked, and when it came time to ride bikes, they stalled out. They also acknowledged that if the difference between being eliminated or staying in the Race depended on their walking speed, they were sunk. Like a few teams before them, they failed to look for the red-and-yellow ribbon tied bundles of laundry at the entry, but they were the quickest team to recover from that particular mistake. Along with Mille & Chuck and Jon & Al, they made a mistake at the Detour, but since they were all clustered together it didn't end up making any difference. At the end of the leg, they dumped their packs to beat out Jon & Al. Since they couldn't have known about Monica & Sheree, it was the right move - risking losing their packs as opposed to losing the Race.

Jon & Al. The clowns made their first serious error of the Race when they failed to board mass transportation as quickly as all the other teams save Monica & Sheree. Then they picked the odd Detour task. Throughout the history of The Amazing Race, teams have almost always selected an easy-to-find place over a hard-to-find place. It's a simple matter of balancing the time needed to perform a task over the time it takes to find a place. Each Detour task has pros and cons, but in this case, the only apparent advantage to the Duds option was that the teams would stay clean. However, either because they are good at racing, or because the Duds option was actually faster, Jon & Al got to the fish market at about the same time as Millie & Chuck and Tian & Jaree. There, they were the ones who asked the locals about the fish. However, they should have read their clue more carefully, as the locals ended up giving them false information. They finished last among the clustered teams, due largely to a slower cab. They are fortunate to still be in the Race.

Monica & Sheree. What went wrong? The team started off well, taking a train to the airport instead of the more expensive cab ride. However, where they fell apart was when they left the route information box in Film City (Bollywood). They were the last team to figure out how to get on public transportation, well after most other teams had reached the Detours. At the Detour, they seemed to panic, failing to find their clue the first time through the bundle of dirty clothes. By the time they completed the Detour and Roadblock, it was too late for them. At this point in the Race, a single mistake can lead to elimination, and it did, putting Monica & Sheree out of the Race.

Jeffrey Clinard lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his cats, Lam and Princess. He can be reached at jclinard@flashmail.com.

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