The Amazing Race Wiki

Up the River Without a Joust is the tenth episode of The Amazing Race 37.

Story[]

At the Statua di Agosto, teams are instructed to fly to Frankfurt, Germany and then take a train to Strasbourg, France. Han & Holden are thankful to still be continuing racing after being saved by a non-elimination in the previous leg. With the close finishing times in the last leg, all teams get on the same flight and end up on the same train as well on the way to France.

Upon arriving, teams located marked cars and drove to the Palace of Europe, which serves as the seat of the Council of Europe. Han & Holden arrived first, but got confused on where the entrance was. Jonathan & Ana arrived second and found on the gate they arrive five minutes before the palace opened, allowing the siblings as well as Carson & Jack to catch up to them. The three teams then have to list the four member countries of the Council of Europe that they have visited: Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, and France. All three get it correct and receive their next clue, instructing them to drive themselves to Pont Couverts. With the gamers leaving first followed by the siblings and the couple.

Alyssa & Josiah arrive just as the other three teams leave. Brett & Mark, meanwhile, fall behind as they get confused navigating to the Palace of Europe, having to ask some locals for more specific directions. The nurses take some extra time at the Palace as they substitute Germany for some of the other countries a couple of times before eventually figuring it out and receiving their next clue.

Han & Holden arrive at Pont Couverts first, with the next challenge revealed to be a Roadblock and Head-to-Head challenge. The individual team member has to face off against another team's member in a game of water jousting and knock them off the other boat into the river. The winner will receive their next clue while the loser will face off against the next team. The last team to lose will receive a 10-minute penalty before they can continue the race. Han volunteers for their team as Carson & Jack arrive. Carson decides to do it to even up his and Jack's Roadblock count and the two nerds are excited upon learning its a jousting challenge, figuring their backgrounds in Renaissance Fairs will come in handy. Jonathan & Ana arrive shortly afterwards, with Jonathan doing the task as his wife had already done six Roadblocks.

With her surfing background, Han is able to focus her center of gravity on the boat and knocks Carson into the water, giving the siblings a healthy lead into the next challenge. They are instructed to head to La Cloche à Formage. As Carson prepares for his duel with Jonathan, Brett & Mark finally arrive at the Palace of Europe, and are glad upon hearing the Head-to-Head challenge as it means at least one team has to wait for them. Alyssa & Josiah arrive at Pont Couverts with Josiah volunteering. Though nearly falling in himself, Carson manages to tip Jonathan out of his boat. Jack cheers on his friend for defeating the Goliath as Jonathan angrily prepares for the next round.

Han & Holden arrive at the cheese shop La Cloche à Formage, where their next Route Info is to memorize nine types of cheese and then correctly identify the cheeses outside of the restaurant. Holden encourages Han to take on five since she's more fluent in French. The task proves to be daunting as not only do they have to memorize the cheese names, but also the individual tastes. As Jonathan and Josiah prepare to joust, Brett & Mark arrive, with Mark choosing to take on the loser. Jonathan ultimately triumphs over Josiah and moves them onto the next challenge. Carson & Jack eventually catch up and meet the siblings at the cheese shop, with Jack taking five since he has a better palette than Carson.

Despite being bummed over losing the previous round, Josiah defeats Mark in the joust. The nurses move on while the Vegas performers stay behind to wait out their 10 minute penalty, though they know they're not out of the race yet.

Jonathan & Ana arrive at the cheese store with the others, and Jonathan tells Ana to take on five. Alyssa & Josiah join up with the other teams. Seeing how long it's taking everyone to get the task done, Alyssa thinks they should use their Express Pass to bypass the task, though Josiah is hesitant to give it up and thinks they should give it a shot so they can save it for the next task. After the penalty is done, Brett & Mark catch up with the other teams at the cheese store, with all five struggling to memorize all nine different cheeses. After more than ten attempts, Han & Holden are the first to complete the challenge, with Carson & Jack not too far behind them.

Jonathan gets frustrated with the cheese task, blaming Ana for not memorizing her portions. The siblings and friends make their way to Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg. After climbing a number of stairs to the roof, they receive their next clue, a Detour. The first choice, Out to Dry, has teams arriving at a river in the countryside to assist cleaning ladies with washing a tub of dirty laundry before receiving their next clue. The second choice, For the Birds, have teams constructing a stork nest from a farmer before receiving their next clue. The siblings and friends both choose Out to Dry and ask different locals for directions to the task, which is nearly an hour out of the city from where they are at.

Jonathan & Ana eventually complete the cheese task and make their way to the cathedral, with Jonathan belittling her for how long it took as they make their way up the stairs. The couple decides on Out to Dry, and Ana writes down directions from a local on a piece of paper while Jonathan impatiently watches the other teams leave.

After multiple attempts, Alyssa eventually convinces Josiah to use the Express Pass on the cheese task, and regrets that they didn't use it from the start. Brett & Mark complete it not long after they leave. Both teams make it to the cathedral and decide to do the other task, For the Birds. On the way to the washing task, Han & Holden and Jonathan & Ana get lost and miss crucial turns. The siblings stop by a nearby town to get better directions while Jonathan constantly criticizes his wife for her mistakes on the leg and tries to get her to pull over so he can drive, greatly irritating her.

Because of this, Carson & Jack are the first to arrive at the task, where they meet older French ladies who instruct them on how to scrub and wash the clothes before allowing them to clean. The two friends have fun listening to the women gossip and talk to each other across the river as they work. Brett & Mark make up ground and arrive first to the nest challenge, getting a good look at the farmer's work before taking on the wreath structure themselves (though they humorously find Mark had some cheese in his pocket from the previous task). Due to the performers' detail-oriented focus, Alyssa & Josiah arrive shortly afterwards and are quickly able to catch up by stacking as much as they can. The Vegas' performers nest is rejected, and they realize they need to use more of the material given.

Carson & Jack finish washing the clothes just as Han & Holden arrive to the task, with the French women approving their efforts. They are then instructed to race to the Pit Stop, the Table d'Orientation. As Han & Holden begin work on the clothes, the nurses and performers nests are rejected by the farmer several times. Jonathan & Ana arrive at the washing task to join the siblings. Carson & Jack arrive at the Pit Stop in first place, where they are greeted by Phil and a villager before winning a trip for two to Helsinki, Finland. The two are proud of beating a team with an Express Pass and feel reinvigorated after their rocky placements in previous legs.

Alyssa & Josiah eventually figure out the details they are missing and deliver a proper nest to the farmer. After receiving the clue, they talk to a nearby family for directions to the Table. As they do so, the performers look closely at their nests and compare them to figure out their string placement was incorrect and they receive their clue just as Alyssa & Josiah finish getting directions from the family. Though the performers contemplate also getting directions from the family, having no idea what their placement is, they instead decide to follow the nurses.

Having fallen back in the previous leg for their perfectionist approach, Han & Holden decide to focus on speed over quality. When they get their clothes checked, the woman rejects some of the clothes washed by Holden. Jonathan & Ana are able to complete their task before them, leaving the siblings nervous as Holden's clothes keep getting rejected, they finally get it right the third time around and are the last team to finish their Detour task.

Brett & Mark lose track of Alyssa & Josiah and get lost around the hills. The nurses meanwhile make it to the Table d'Orientation after getting further directions from a cyclist. Despite their stress during the day with the Express Pass and the Detour, they are pleasantly surprised to find they placed second, with Josiah expressing pride for his wife. The remaining three teams are in a scramble for the Pit Stop, with the performers even going the opposite direction of the siblings at one point. After several missed turns and signs, Jonathan & Ana arrive third on the Pit Stop, with both expressing responsibility for some of the mistakes they made in the leg. A few minutes later, they welcome Han & Holden on the mat to join them in the final four.

Brett & Mark arrive in last place at the Pit Stop and are eliminated. The Vegas husbands aren't too surprised since they've been behind most of the day, but are disappointed they did not make to the end as they were strong enough to compete against the other teams. They jokingly mention how the other teams can rest easy with them gone and are proud of how far they made it given the distance they traveled over this journey.

Route Markers[]

The order of departure from Statua di Augusto are as follows:

  1. Jonathan & Ana (11:51 am)
  2. Brett & Mark (11:56 am)
  3. Alyssa & Josiah (12:17 pm)
  4. Carson & Jack (12:26 pm)
  5. Han & Holden (12:58 pm)

Teams must make their way to Gems Travel & Events, where they must book a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. Upon arrival, teams must take a train to Strasbourg, France. Once there, teams must drive themselves to the Palace of Europe, where they were asked a question, "Name the four countries you have actively raced in that are members of the Council of Europe." By giving the correct answer (Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, and France), teams would receive their next clue.

Teams must drive themselves to Pont Couverts, where they would find their next clue.

"Who's ready to go Head-to-Head?"

The team member assigned to this Roadblock must compete against a member from the opposing team in a water joust. They must each stand on the back of flat-bottomed boats traveling in opposing directions and had to try to knock their opponent off of their boat and into the River Ill using a lance. The team that wins the match would receive their next clue, while the team that loses must then wait for another team to compete against. The team that loses the final heat will receive a 10-minute penalty, which they must immediately serve before continuing racing.

The Roadblock performers per team are underlined:

The battles are in order, with the winners in bold:

Teams must make their way on foot to La Cloche à Fromage, where they would find their next clue.

Teams must taste and memorize the names nine different flavors of local cheeses in French: bethmale, bonde de gâtine, Brie de Meaux, brillat-savarin, camembert de Normandie, morbier, munster, Roquefort, and valençay. They must then blindly taste another selection of cheeses and correctly identify and name all nine flavors that they tasted. Once they have correctly identified all nine flavors, they would receive their next clue. Alyssa & Josiah used their Express Pass to bypass this task.

Teams must make their way on foot to the Strasbourg Cathedral and climb 330 steps to the roof of the cathedral, where they would their next clue.

Choice A: Out to Dry

Teams must drive themselves to 2 Rue du Maréchal Joffre in Scherwiller, where they must wash a tub of dirty laundry in the Aubach river by hand. Once the judge is satisfied with their work, she would give teams their next clue.

Carson & Jack, Han & Holden, and Jonathan & Ana chose this task.

Choice B: For the Birds

Teams must drive themselves to 4 Rue Saint-Wolfgang in Scherwiller, where they must, following an ongoing demonstration, construct the base structure of a stork nest. Once the judge is satisfied with their work, he would give teams their next clue.

Alyssa & Josiah and Brett & Mark chose this task.

Teams must drive themselves to Table d'Orientation to check in.
For coming in first place, Carson & Jack won Expedia cashback rewards for a trip for two to Helsinki, Finland.

Leaderboard[]

Legend:
     First Place •      Eliminated     Last placer on a Non-Elimination Leg or continue racing on a No-Rest Leg     Season winner •      Season 2nd place •      Season 3rd place • Used the Fast Forwardϵ Used the Express Pass User of the first Double U-Turn slot • Recipient of the first Double U-Turn slot • User of the second Double U-Turn slot • Recipient of the second Double U-Turn slot• Team that lost the Double Battle
Carson & Jack
Carson & Jack
 1st place 
Carson & Jack
Best Friends/Gamers
Alyssa & Josiah
Alyssa & Josiah
 2nd placeϵ 
Alyssa & Josiah
Married Nurses
Jonathan & Ana
Jonathan & Ana
 3rd place 
Jonathan & Ana
Married
Han & Holden
Han & Holden
 4th place 
Han & Holden
Siblings
Brett & Mark
Brett & Mark
 5th place 
Brett & Mark
Married Vegas Performers

Trivia[]

  • This is the first epside since "Who Wants a Rolex?" in The Amazing Race 31 six years earlier to feature a Head-to-Head.
    • This is the first Head-to-Head in the original US version to:
      • be incorporated as part of a Roadblock rather than being a standalone task.
      • placed in the middle of the leg instead of at the Pit Stop, resulting in the losers of the Head-to-Head receiving a time penalty instead of being eliminated.
  • With Brett & Mark's elimination, Carson & Jack are the last all-male team left racing.
  • The episode title is said by Brett Hamby.

References[]

The Amazing Race 37 Episodes

"Double the Stakes, Double the Eliminations" · "Very Strong Warrior Energy" · "Chaotic, Crazy, That's What We're Used to" · "There's No Addresses in the Jungle" · "It's Not Personal, It's Business" · "It Smells Like the Desert" · "Be One With the Hay" · "We're Letting Race Brain Win" · "The Pizza de Résistance" · "Up the River Without a Joust" · "My Knight in Shining Armor" · "We're in Miami Baby!"