The Amazing Race 14: Munich, Germany

I don't know why I am rooting so hard for Linda and Steve to stay in the race tonight. They are the weakest team in the race, perhaps the weakest team in several seasons.
At the first pit stop, Steve tearfully regrets treating Linda badly during the first leg. Contemplating their next stop, Munich, Linda says "Germany has beer, so I hope there is a beer challenge."
Again, I wonder why the producers selected this team with no discernible strength. Somewhere in mid-episode, I start hoping Steve and Linda will hang on for a few more rounds.
Leg Two begins with eight of ten teams getting on the first flight, a Swiss Air flight to Munich. Most teams are smart enough to borrow the cab driver's cellphone to make their flight reservations.
Mark and Michael, the stuntmen, say they can relax because they came in third. Dangerous words. But relaxing in the taxi, they neglect to make advance flight reservations and it costs them.
The two little stuntmen wind up with flight attendants, Christie and Jodi, on the second flight and at the bottom of the pack. As they wait in the airport, Mark and Michael acknowledge their error. I predict they will tighten up their game.

Munich, Germany

In Munich, teams drive to Ruhpoldong and ride a cable car to top of a mountain for their clue. Here teams face a Roadblock. One team member must paraglide off the mountain, hanging onto an instructor for a 6,000-foot ride down. If wind conditions are not safe to fly down, the racer can choose to hike 60-minutes hike the mountain.
Mel, the 68-year-old gay father, injured a groin muscle on last week's cheese wheel challenge. Despite the injury, Mel is excited to opt in for the paragliding.
"I'm old, but I have to do some of the fun challenges," he says.
"Who is ready to fly like an easel?" misreads Brad. But no one is flying like an easel now--the wind is blowing and the instructors make the racers wait.
One-by-one, teams elect to walk down the 6,000 foot mountain. Because of his injury, Mel is forced to wait rather than walk down.
Mel tries to get at least one team to wait with him by implying that walking down is chickening out. But no one falls for his bluff and soon, he is the only one left waiting for the wind to change. Mel says it's not right to pray for divine intervention, but starts praying for divine intervention anyway. The wind changes and Mel and Mike are in 5th instead of being eliminated. And Mel is the only racer who gets to paraglide.
It amuses me when Amazing Racers invoke God for help to win a million dollars. But sometimes it appears to work.
I knew Linda would be the last one down the mountain, but I didn't predict she would miss the directional sign. I wonder again why the producers selected this team. Her tears win me over.

Detour: Balancing Dolly or Austrian Folly

Teams drive 25 miles to Schoeau Am Konigssee.
On this Detour, team either ride a Segue on a two-mile obstacle course or go into party tent and throw pies made of traditional Austrian schlag, which is a whipped cream. Teams don't know their target will be their partner's face. They must keep throwing pies at each other until they hit cherry filling. Here's where you find out who has a sense of humor.
Kris: "This pie is actually delicious." Amanda eats off his shoulder.
Luke is having none of the pies. He gets angry and it takes him and his Mom a long time to find the cherry pie.
Tammy and Victor, sibling lawyers, slide into the Pit Stop and score an easy first place. The
pit stop is in Salzberg, Austria, at Schloss Hellbrunn or Castle Hellbrunn if you're translating the German.
Despite the easy win, I predict trouble ahead for Tammy and Victor. Victor says "it's hard not to think of myself as the leader of the team." He already made several references to being in charge and concedes that he can't allow Tammy to make decisions.
Tammy isn't dumb; she's a lawyer. It's shocking to hear a 21st century man say he is the leader with no room for compromise or input from his teammate, even if his racing partner is his baby sister.
Predictably, Steve and Linda are eliminated.