And then came Episode 2, the infamous Tofino leg. In the first time in race history (at least in the English versions), a team quit two tasks in a row. Normally, that would result in elimination due to penalties, but Shawn King dislocated his shoulder forcing he and his wife Jen to bow out. Obviously, Rex and Bob were shocked by that development and so were a lot of fans. Quitting a task was one thing but quitting two in a row was something else, especially since the reasons for quitting didn't measure up to what happened to Jen and Shawn. And Shahla and Nabeela in the previous leg. Many thought the couple had taken the race for granted, had quit because they realized the race was too hard and didn't want to continue.
Gord and Wayne were part of that critical group and there was a brief back and forth between Wayne and Rex and Bob on Twitter in which the boys called Wayne a dick. Twice. But Wayne's a big boy, older than both of Rex and Bob and could handle it. But over the next bunch of legs, Rex and Bob played the game as hard as anyone and quit no more tasks. So even though they let down fans of the game in the early stage, they bounced back and from our point of view, redeemed themselves. Then they got eliminated in Winnipeg.
G & W - You faced a lot of criticism of what happened in Episode 2, were you surprised but the reaction of Canadians and how seriously some of them took the race, especially a dick like Wayne?
(Laughter from both Rex and Bob)
Bob - Well, Richard (laughs). You know we fully expected it and it actually wasn't as fierce as I thought it could of been and maybe should of been. We had a lot of equal amount of support as well. So we were kind of expecting it and we took it on the chin because, you know, we took two penalties and we were expecting that to happen.
G & W - Were you really that shocked that you were eliminated?
Bob/Rex (It was hard to determine which one was answering at times on the phone because they didn't always identify themselves as they spoke to the question but that's fine. I'm just explaining why we didn't separate some of the answers) - Absolutely because like we were seeing Natalie and Meaghan, who are the superstars of the show and they're like phenoms and they are always in first. And if they had a hockey challenge, of course they probably got through it, so we must be doing really well. And we saw only Rob and Ryan behind this, we thought 'Does that mean we are third?' And we were totally shocked. I'm glad we didn't go out in some teary-eyed 12 hour can't-do challenge and there was a ballerina at the end so it was a perfect.
G & W - How closely behind were you?
R & B - We were only a few minutes behind Rob and Ryan. And when we got to the Human Rights Museum, they are just finishing it so the grounds have not been landscaped, so there's a big fence surrounding the whole thing. So we got out of the cab and started looking for the door. We ran around the entire building and we got back from where the cab had dropped us off, it was just off to the right, we didn't see it. And then we did a 3K run up to the top of the tower. We were only a few minutes behind Rob and Ryan, so had we gotten out of the perogies quicker, we'd still be in it.
G & W - The roadblock seemed to be more challenging for you, Rex, than anyone else, was that the case?
Rex - The only problem I had with it was the song was written specifically for it so it was nothing you would have heard before. And in the first stanza of the song, there was no rhyme or reason to them, so it was difficult to get a hook on what they were. And I think watching the show, other people struggled as well. And it just came down to Rob got it done; I don't think he got all the words, I just think he rocked out really well, he looked fabulous, unlike me. And it was hard to get the beginning of the song and I had to keep going down to get it, which is why I was wearing glasses all the time. I had to put my glasses on, it was ridiculous. It was also weird being on stage with people booing you and telling you to get off, it was hard to get used to that.
G & W - It was a different crowd than a ballet crowd so how did you deal with these people booing you?
Rex - It's never happened to me and I was at first, 'Come on guys, I'll get this.' So that threw me a bit. And then I realized that I had to just go with it in the end. It was actually fun being up there, like having the band behind you. Now I understand why people want to be rock stars because it's such a great feeling being on stage with a band. And I was really sick, I had a bad cold so I sounded like Brenda Vaccaro.
G & W - Who is left on the show that you thought you'd be able to beat?
R & B - I don't know, Sukhi and Jinder? And Mickey and Pete, we think that they won't get eliminated, they will just get lost and never show up. So we thought we would be in the finale. Our whole strategy was always be in the Top 3 and we were in the Top 3 twice, we yo-yoed, we were up and down and thought as soon as we got to the finale, we were going to have a different strategy on how to beat the other two teams. So we didn't think at any point we couldn't beat anybody.
G & W - Was there something on the race that you weren't expecting, that those of us watching cannot understand or prepare for?
Rex - (Pause) That's a tough question. I think we took it so that everything was going to be a surprise. And you can't really prepare for everything and when you read the clue, they are a little bit cryptic, so who would do them would always be difficult so that's why I did the performance.
Bob - You get thrown sometimes so it was the reason I said I should have done the performance in Winnipeg. When we decided who would be the best suited for different challenges, I would do all the memory ones because I have the mind for that. Like the Fantan, I have an analytical mind for that. And so that kind of came to me quickly and easily. So the singing, I thought I should of done the singing. But we changed though, after Tofino when we took the two penalties, we realized we were taking things too seriously, we didn't pay attention to what any of the other teams are doing. So Rex is out in the deep water, practically in a tsunami and we didn't pay attention to what the teams were doing, we just saw our lead deplete. And then I started to get frustrated and lose my cool instead of watching what the other teams were doing. We just stuck to our own thing, didn't change gears or reassess. And for the chair, I thought it was not good enough but it was perfect, and if I looked around and saw the other chairs, I would have been fine. But we learned that lesson to ease up and slow down a bit, check what the other teams were doing. It was necessary evil, an important lesson for us to be able to continue.
G & W - Was there anything about the editing that twisted the narrative more than you thought it would?
R & B - You know what, if anything, I'm kind of grateful for the editing, especially on the second episode because I got really frustrated and it didn't show how frustrated I was and could have been made to look like the creepy hothead. So I'm grateful that I didn't look as bad as I could have been. But otherwise, what you've seen is exactly what's happened.
G & W - Rex is used to the celebrity but now Bob is a celebrity too, how are you feeling about that?
Rex - We've created a monster! (laughs)
Bob - I'm used to being on the side while Rex is getting interviewed or photographed. But you know, Colin Mochrie is a friend of ours and his wife, Deb Mcgrath is also a performer. And we were at this event and Colin and Rex were with the Prime Minister and so just naturally stepped aside, as I do. And Deb grabbed me and said, 'You will not be of the shove-it. You get right up there and stand next to him, you have every right to be here, do not be of the shove-it.' So I owe that to Deb Mcgrath.
G & W - What was your favourite part of being on the show?
Rex - We met some really great people, we're really friendly with Jen and Shawn and you know, we bonded over that whole tragedy on the beach. And just getting to go to Macau and dive off that bungee jump and Bob's always wanted to jump out of a plane. The things you do that you probably never do unless you were forced to do them.
Bob - A lot of bucket list things, it's incredible, it's like having a complete, paid-for adventure tour where all you have to do is show up and everything is looked after and done. That's incredible, it's a once in a lifetime thing.
G & W - You guys were the oldest team out there, was that intimidating?
R & B - When we first met all the teams, we didn't realize, and we don't see ourselves as being at our ages. But during one of the interviews, we put it together and realized that I think the youngest team was probably Mickey and Pete, with a combined age of about 50 and our combined age is 100. 100! But at no time did we deal with any kind of disadvantage because of it, we didn't think of it, it never crossed our minds.
G & W - If you won, you said you were going to hire Cher for your wedding, but now you've been eliminated, is it Jinder or Mickey? Who's going to sing at your wedding?
Rex - We're still on the Cher campaign and we'll put up a website to get her. (laughing). I don't know, I was reaching out to her on Twitter, I keep sending her messages now and again, I even went down to Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, but we still have her in our sites.