What is a roadblock on The Amazing Race?

Answer 1

A "Road Block" is a task that only one team member can perform. In the Road Block in The Amazing Race 17, episode 4, one team member had to use a summer training sled to mush a team of snow dogs down a forest trail along the way snatching five different flags hanging above them that they could trade for a shipment of fur pelts. For every flag missed, teams had to perform a penalty lap around the hunter's camp. Then teams had to lead their dogs back to the start of the course where they could exchange the pelts for their next clue.

Answer 2

A "Speed Bump" is a task that only a certain team has to complete to move onto the next task. A speed must be completed by a team when they had come last place on the previous leg. A "Speed Bump" will only come up when the previous leg was a non-elimination leg.

Answer 3

A Detour presents the team with a decision between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons. The two tasks are named, often based on rhymes or puns, such as "Plow" / "Fowl" to differentiate between a task involving plowing against a task involving corralling ducks. Teams are given several details about both tasks, but may need to travel a short distance by foot or car to the different task locations. Typically, one task is less physically demanding than the other but is tedious or requires some amount of time or thinking to complete, while the other is usually a more physically demanding or frightening option that, depending on the team's ability, may take less time to complete. The decision about which task to attempt lies solely with the team. A team may choose to switch tasks as many times as they wish with no penalty other than the time lost in attempting the tasks and traveling between task locations. Unless otherwise instructed, teams can work together to finish a Detour option. Once a team has completed one of the tasks, they are given the clue to their next location. If a team does not complete a detour, they will get a 6-hour penalty.

Answer 4

A Roadblock is a task that only one team member may perform. A Roadblock clue is given as a cryptic question, such as "Who's really hungry?" or "Who wants to get down and dirty?" Based on this information and observation of any other racers at the task, the team must decide which member will complete the task before reading the rest of the task description. Once a team member has been selected, (s)he cannot switch. The Roadblock task is performed only by the selected racer while their partner waits in a designated area, although the partner is able to supply words of encouragement. Some Roadblocks may involve the non-selected racer, such as leading a camel his or her partner rides, or helping his or her partner solve a puzzle. Normally, once the racer completes the Roadblock, the team receives their clue to the next Route Marker.

Early seasons allowed teams to distribute the Roadblocks between the team members as they desired, which allowed one team member to do nearly all the Roadblocks. This was changed in Season 6, which limited a single teammate to a maximum number of Roadblocks s/he could complete, thus forcing his or her partner to perform roughly half of the Roadblocks, as well. Subsequent seasons have not explicitly stated this rule but teams have maintained an even distribution of Roadblocks throughout the Race. Racers can be heard saying they've done "all my Roadblocks" or "saving the last one". In Season 9, the Roadblock limit was increased to a maximum of seven which can lead to a 6-6 or 5-7 distribution. In Season 18, the rule was further modified; in this season, team members could not complete more than five roadblocks prior to the final leg. (This season featured two roadblocks in the final leg, so all of the final three team members would complete six roadblocks.) The only time the limit was not enforced was during the "Family Edition", wherein some Roadblocks required two people from each 4-person team to participate.

Season 16 featured some twists to the Roadblock concept. Leg 4 featured an Intersection, wherein one person from each of the Intersected teams had to work together to complete the Roadblock, while Leg 10 featured two Roadblocks in the same single-length leg. One team member had to complete one, while the other had to complete the second Roadblock. Also the final leg of Season 18 featured two Roadblocks in the same single-length leg. If a team does not complete a roadblock, they will get a 4-hour penalty.