As a Racer, what about the Race surprised you most and took you off guard?

Are there things that the producers tell you to do, not to do, avoid doing, etc., that we at home wouldn't necessarily know about? (Like what was just talked about, don't ask if there have been other teams with cameras since that breaks down the 4th wall, for example.)

Also, what is the official list of game rules like? I'm not aware that certain controversies have been resolved, like speeding -- allowed? not allowed? not allowed but no punishment enforced? What about the "standard minimum punitive penalty" and other time penalties? Are you well aware of them before/during the race? Is there like a guidebook or something?

Finally, if you could be any animal, which one would you be? (Just kidding.)

Eh. not really. For the most part we were allowed to do whatever we wanted.



We were told that we could drive within the generally accepted speed limit. If the flow of traffic was speeding, we could speed as well. It was kind of left vague because not every situation was the same. I do remember being told that if our camera crew ever thought we were being reckless they could slow us down or make us pull over.



That brings me to the next point. While we were told all of this, people sped/outran their camera crews all the time and no one was ever penalized for it. (at least on our season) The only time I even know of a camera crew forcing a team to slow down because they were driving too fast was Chuck and Millie's drive to the pit stop when they were eliminated. (And I only know of this because Millie told me.)


A lobster.



Too bad.

Why a lobster? weeze-man.
Who was the person that made you laugh the most during or after the race?
Open to all racers---

Because they've got pinchers and they eat carrion.


Steve and Dave got me in trouble before the race. During photo day prior to the start we werent supposed to talk but they kept making me laugh, and as such I kept getting scolded by production because of it. During the actual race it was a different story. We had this one camera man who cracked me up nonstop. We had a really similar idea as to what was funny. We were constantly cracking each other up.

Frenchteacher: Obviously Josh was paying too much attention to what Steve and Dave were doing in the orientation sessions as well, because there were a lot more rules and "4th wall" stuff than he remembers.

To add to what he said, they even had us do a dry run with a camera crew during pre-race week. We had to scramble around this conference room in the hotel and do three lame tasks while the crew did their thing. "Silly" would be an appropriate description.

And, as opposed to Josh (who had to wait for his ol' man at times), Chuck and Millie and Amanda and I got scolded several times for outrunning our crews. It's understandable, without them there wouldn't be a race...but it's hard to throttle back the need/feeling to haul ass. Ya know, since it's a race.

There is a guidebook that comes with one of the final contracts that we sign. We have to sign off that we've read and understand the rules set forth. And they even created a couple new rules in orientation that we had to agree to...something about buying a horse for your crew?? Heh.

Nocav: The thing that surprised me the most about the race was the friggin' intensity of it all. It's nuts. But it's also what makes it so exhilarating and fun.

newman: I know this is hard to believe, but Chuck is a really goofy guy. He probably didn't make me "laugh the most", but he was quite entertaining on the streets of Lisbon.

And I would be a monkey...

Was this more for the Racers, or for the crews?

It's still exciting to have questions answered by racers. Venice and the Weez, you guys rock, even if your stories sort of contradict each other. I guess that just adds to the mystery of... The Amazing Race!

Sorry. Phil invaded my head for a second.

The questions are still open for discussion if other racers are around... ? Guidos? Brennan? Anyone?

We were making bunny ears behind Chris's head. Josh was an easy mark.



One of the "tasks' was to do a dozen pushups or copy a passage from a book verbatim on a laptop...Dave's typing fingers are still sore.



Thank you for that reminder Chris. Your subsequent jokes about Kelly's question regarding the purchased horses had Dave and I wetting our pants...even though there was "NO TALKING"!

An eagle.

Steve forgets to mention that we walked through our pre-race dry run, in preparation for the real thing.

-and-

A majestic moose.

(my sister was bitten by a moose once...)

Really? Was she was carving her initials on the moose with the sharpened end of an interspace toothbrush given her by Svenge?

What's this about buying the crew a horse? Has it been discussed before? Anyone want to give the lowdown on this one?

Yøu mean a møøse?

Now I'm totally picturing Dave the Eagle karaoke-ing "Wind Beneath My Wings"....

I apologize for my last post, and wish it to be known that those responsible for the post have been sacked. Furthermore, those responsible for sacking those responsible for my last post wish it to be known that they have just been sacked. Also, absolutely no llamas were injured in the creation of this post.

Y'all better watch it. Miss Alli's gonna step in here and say "Ni!"

That's okay, I have a shrubbery.

Question for the Amazing Racers: Do you have a shrubbery?

Okay, serious question for the Amazing Racers: How many years have to go by and what conditions have to occur before you can write about your experiences without penalty? At the CIA, former workers can write their unexpurgated memoirs 75 years after they stop working for the Agency. I imagine your contract is somewhat tighter?

That would be a big YES! The language we signed onto was something like, "throughout the universe." Meant to be understood as: we can never publish anything about the Race without the permission of CBS.

I guess it's only a matter of time before any given message board dissolves into an exchange of Monty Python quotes. I guess I just didn't expect it from racers! (Not that there's anything wrong with that....)

I'm guessing the horse thing with Kelly and laughing hysterically is some kind of inside joke?

Not really. During our open forum meeting with the producers the rules of Amazing Race were discussed including any subsequent rules changes. The questions were all on target and everyone seemed to have a grasp of the game. Until the breakdown of the rules regarding tranportation and what constituted "walking", "fly", "bus" etc. Kelly wanted to know, if they had saved up enough money on her team, if they could purchase "say, horses for $200 apiece". The rest of the teams stared at her in shock and awe. We saw teams huddle together to verify that was what she had said. Dave and I snickered out loud and started Josh and his dad laughing. Chris's mind started calculating snappy retorts for her later. Amanda muffled a 12 letter word.The production team was doing their valiant best to keep a straight face. And Kelly was looking up at them unaware just how ridiculous her question was,and waited for an answer. Then one of the producers (and I swear I saw a light bulb beam over his head) said that they would have to "buy an extra pair of ponies for their crew". Kelly seemed satisfied and that question was a running joke the rest of the game.

Oh. my. god. I can't type from shaking (from laughter).

Oh wow, I just had to say that that was FUNNY. Maybe even the funniest behind-the-scenes story I've heard yet about TAR4 - even better than floorcake!

That indeed was funny and it took THIS long for it to surface. Now I'm wondering what snappy retorts Chris had in mind and since you said it became a running joke, Steve, if it was brought up by anyone, and how, later during the race.

Makes you wonder if Kelly remembered the rule during the Horse/Blow Up Raft Detour in Australia.

I also have images of Reichen & Chip and David & Jeff rolling about on the sand laughing their arses off when they saw the horses for the task.

I cant believe anyone else hasnt mentioned it, but as soon as I heard about the horse thing, I automatically pictured Amanda saying to Chris "where's my pony?!" Where is her pony Chris?

I also thought that, thinking the whole horse thing was a reference to Amanda's pony. I think Chris is safe, cause under the rule they had to buy the 'crew' a pony. Amanda was 'cast', not 'crew' But then again 'walk' according the the TAR Dictionary means 'hop' 'jump' 'skip' 'run' but not 'take a taxi' so 'crew' could mean anything I suppose.

I was wondering too if any of Chris' snappy retorts had anything to do with Amanda's pony.

Or the reason why Amanda muffled that 12-letter word was because she was going 'XXXXXXXXXXXX! Kelly wants to buy horses and Chris won't even get me a pony!'

I have to admit from what I can recall being mentioned from all four seasons, that pony question is one of the funniest things I've heard, too.

But brother, that really does explain some of Kelly's on screen behavior and comments during the Race!

That's such a great story, AirSteve, I can't believe it took this long to surface! All racers should dig deep into their memories for more stories to share! We get lonely and desperate in the off-season!

Other dug up memory:
Um...how about when (during a pre-race Q/A session for individual teams and the other 11 teams were holed up in a crappy conference room) Kelly suggested that we play Porn Hangman. Hell yeah we played. In one game, I almost stumped everyone (had 'em down to like an arm left) until Kelly guessed my mysterious movie title was "The Pudsucker Roxy."

Other comments:
I think Steve is being way too kind/generous when he says..."The questions were all on target and everyone seemed to have a grasp of the game." Kelly's was by far the most asinine, but I heard a lot of dumb shit that day. Man, if you're a moron and have shit to ask, wait until later and ask in private instead of looking like a dipshit in front of a bunch of people you're about to compete against. Let me just say that the group Q/A would have had the die-hards here rolling.

About Steve & Dave and making comments out loud and breaking the "silence rule". Man, they were doing that shit from the get-go. The first time I ever had a chance to observe that shtick was during finals week. Amanda and I (and most others) were all about playing by the rules and we were all seated nice and pretty waiting for our mental breakdown tests to start, when these two huge, old dudes come ambling into the room...fuckin' laughing and commenting on people. I think most people were kinda shocked by their audacious disregard for what we were all told to obey. But I knew right then and there that they were on the damn show and I told Amanda later that if we all got on, that was definitely one team we had to play nice with. They looked like they had something to bring to the table and we could help each other out. Little did I know they had this "Amazing Stroll" philosophy in place.

And all their antics finally broke me down and I had to start disobeying the "silence rule" as well. The Kelly comment came when about five of us teams were waiting for the elevator along with our baby sitter (the southern belle Anne). As teams gathered, Anne radio'd to see if we could go down yet (we were going down to sign the revised contracts). The answer back was "no". And just as Kelly and Jon walked into the area where we all were, I said "maybe they're still working out the exact wording on just how many horses we can buy" (or something like that). Dave blurted out a "Bah!!" and Steve came over for a quick and discreet high five just as Anne glared bullets through my head. I think Chip and Reichen were one of the teams there and chuckled a little even. Rule breaking was on (like Donkey Kong) after that.

Shit, looking back at all this made me remember my favorite Steve & Dave nickname. Chip & Reichen shall be now known as "The Coreys."

The Coreys! Ha! That's so funny that that one never made it to the air (was it forgotten after pre-race?) considering so many other team nicknames did -- the Supremes, BFG's, and whatnot.

But buying a horse takes the cake! LOL! Of course that's just the ludicrous kind of thing I would ask about for no good reason. Hmmm. I hope I'm not turning into Kelly. Let me know if I start shrieking.

OK, this pre-race story thing is kinda fun. It's probably been told before, but here is the origin of the Bert and Ernie nickname. During our media day we had a shoot with a photog for Entertainment Weekly. It was a group shoot, but, as usual we weren't allowed to talk, so everyone was just kind of checking one another out and sizing up the competition. Rob and I were standing in the back. I looked down to the front and noticed Bill and Joe had their safari hats and niced pressed clothing on. The photographer was having trouble getting everyone to pay attention, but Joe was staring at the camera with this sort of wide-eyed-wonder, little kid type of smile on his face that just cracked me up. I poked Rob, pointed at Bill and Joe and said, "Look at Bert and Ernie down there." He started laughing so hard that he had to turn around and walk away from the group until the photographer yelled at him to come back.

Best group questions I can remember:

Emily - "Are they gonna leave the cameras on if I'm, say, bathing in a river?"

Frank & Marge, after looking at each other as if wondering whether they should divulge a secret - "We brought rollerblades, can we use them?" The answer - "As long as your crew can keep up." Obviously, they ditched them.

Sorry, VB, wouldn't that be the most equine ?

Topic: what answer do you give to friends and family when they ask the inevitable "how did you do" question before (ugh) Philimination or the finale? Something along the lines of "I could tell you, but I'd have to take you to Sequesterville with me for a while first?"

To bump the animal question: come on, can't someone please be a herring? Please?

Dude you have a memory like my dad. I was the one who got that right. So quickly in fact that I was sure people were going to figure out that I'm a pervert.



I didn't think that rule breaking became a common thing until after photo day at griffith park. I must have gotten yelled at for breaking the "silence fools!" rule a dozen times. At one point I was told we'd be sent home if we didn't stop goofing off.

[Personal Information No One But Me Really Cares About] My last couple of days? All emotional bloodletting, all the time.[/P.I.N.O.B.M.R.C.A] That Porn Hangman answer, however? Cracked me the HELL up. Good GOD, bwah!!! Thanks, VB.


And by "the cake," you of course mean "the floorcake."

Still, I don't think that beats Ball in the Family or Men in Black Men.

Thanks for your story, Brennan. I can picture Joe exactly the way you described him!

And if you actually need photographic proof of this, I don't think you need look further than that utterly bizarre moment in Episode 3 of TAR1 where Team Guido are asking at a hotel about the location of Foucault's Pendulum. Quite aside from Joe's response "It's at the Pantheon! Aahh...because it's big...and it swings!", the look on his face here is highly reminiscent of what Brennan described from the initial photoshoot. That's probably why we can picture it exactly, Tribefan!

It's funny, you know...all this pre-show hilarity and four seasons later they still haven't come up with perfect credits shots for the teams across the board. Come on, title creators - it's obviously not that hard!

I suppose that's another question for the teams - are you truly happy with your cheesy credit turns to camera? I know they force you to do things their way, but if you had a free choice what would you have come up with? (Apart from Steve and Josh of course, who apparently did do things their way!).

We did come up with our cheesey opener. We sit by the fire and toast to evil all the time.

Gig ,Australian.
The producers DID ask our input for the opening. Dave and I actually suggested all 3 locations that they shot and they used 2 of them. The "cheesey spin and smile" that we had was actually at the air traffic facility where we work. It was quite a trick to have a 3 person camera crew, a producer, several hundred pounds of equipment, including a HEAVY swing arm dolly, and have no one be the wiser. We, of course, had the big bosses in on it and the radar screen that you see was actually in the training wing. The bowling alley was in Dave's basement, so that was easy. The scene they did not use was Dave and I running in the annual Chicago Marathon.

So does that mean that Teri & Ian came up with that RIDICULOUS synchronized head turn all by themselves? I mean, wow. I mean, again, wow. That is clearly the best (and, of course, most wretched) team opening credits thingy of any season, and I can't imagine it being topped.

Oh! Also -- hey racers! You might have noticed a whole hypothetical "All Star" thread thing going on. Thoughts on that?? (Maybe they should be posted there instead? Ack. Jar of worms. I'll just go ahead and ban myself before someone does it for me.) I say first-place finishers shouldn't race again if they do an all-star. Miss Alli disagrees. Thoughts? Brennan, I'm looking in your direction?


edited b/c I misspelled Miss Alli's name. Zounds. I'm really not doing well tonight.

I totally cracked up. I don't know why. Perhaps it's the mental image of Guido barking 'bwahahaha' and being the boss of all evil. I don't know. Of perhaps it's the image of Bill and Joe in devil costumes. I really don't know.



Isn't that because you haven't actually finished that yet. I heard they are still waiting for you guys to 'run' past where the camera is set up.

LOL! I'd like to know what else Dave has stuffed in his basement.

Hmm, that's odd. I can't see either of you in the results of the races at http://www.chicagomarathon.com ... must be a misprint. Wacky computers! (Of course, Bill1978's theory would also be a reason why you're not listed.)

As embarassing as that was to watch each week of TAR3, it was much more playful to see ReiChip engaged in their swimming activity (I had to avoid "water sports") each week of TAR4.

Our opening? Ugh, we had no input. They wanted us to be lawyerly, so they had us "practicing law in our apartment." We knew from the beginning it would be kinda cheesy.

As for all star, I like listening to you all debate it, so I won't say much. But...



Of course we should be allowed to participate. What, are you gonna penalize me because I won? Plus, as Miss Alli said, it's not all stars if there are no winners. Survivor used 4 out of the 7 winners (including the first one).

Well, if you consider winning $1M and not getting into an All-Star edition "penalizing" . . .

Another comment regarding Team ATC in the Chicago Marathon. Despite Dave's comment, he got a little confused. He thought that he and Steve were participating in the Chicago Marathon, but it turns out they were just on a walking tour of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Gig for NovaScott. Just looking at us you should realize that we NEVER walk in the vicinity of plants and vegetables - excepting that they are on a pizza of course.

We run as fast as we possibly can AWAY from vegetables, plants, tofu, sushi, etc.

And a gig for Daver for spelling NovacScott's name incorrectly. Say, this is fun.

He should get two gigs since it's not the first time he's made that mistake. ;)

Ehh, trying to be funny when you're still up at 5 in the morning is never a good idea...

Man if I had a fireplace I'd do that all the time too.



That's funny because we had virtually NO input into how we wanted our opening shot.
Some of the crew came out and directed us around for a few hours. I don't think we decided anything, they even picked my clothes for me.

You mean you ACTUALLY own clothes of that style? hehe