Brief sidebar. Look, I don't like fighting, and God knows there's nothing more boring than a guy you can't take anywhere because he starts fights in bars and at parties and so forth. Having said that, I have a good friend who once told me I shouldn't be afraid to admit that at some level, there's a certain basic appeal to "guys who fight and fix stuff," and in this case, it's true. I wouldn't have a shred of respect for any of the boys if they actually beat up the Guidos, but I sort of love them for feeling like they should.

A strolling Phil tells us that "the competition has gotten ugly," thus cementing his position as Captain Redundancy. He reminds us that there are six teams, and after tonight, there will only be five -- so this isn't another non-elimination leg, like we had last week. He gives the same yellow-flag speech that he gives every week, and this week he explains the idea of the Fast Forward, so you know somebody's going for it.

3:30 AM. Frank and Margarita, who failed to follow the clue in the last leg, are leaving first. (Just my personal opinion? Patently unfair -- it seemed last week that their entire advantage came from the rules violation, so letting them stay in front seems clearly wrong.) We start immediately today with a Detour, which is the one-of-two-options clue. (Usually, we get one clue they have to follow before the detour, but they appear to be shortening the process up this week for whatever reason.) The two choices are Glide and Ride. In "Glide," you have to go to a little airport and take a plane flight -- one team member in the regular little plane, and one in a glider towed by that plane and then set loose to drift down on its own once the planes are both in the air. The advantage is that once you've taken the flight, you get a free ride to the train station at Ferrara, which is the next destination. Adding a twist to this option, though, is the fact that there's only one glider, so if you do the Glide option, you may have to wait in line when you get there. In "Ride," you have to go to a bike shop and rent a bike, which you then ride to the train station yourself. (This means, of course, that both biking and navigating are potential pitfalls.)