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Post Vegas Stakes with Amazing Race Winners Meghan and Cheyne
by Reg Seeton
 The
Amazing Race 15 is over and the finale action
was once again intense, as San Diego couple, Meghan
Rickey and Cheyne Whitney, hit the Amazing race
mat in first place after a nail biting final leg
in Las Vegas. Although the three remaining teams
all left Prague at the same time, Meghan and Cheyne
found a way to get the Amazing Race jump on brothers,
Sam and Dan, and Nashville couple, Brian and Ericka,
as The Amazing Race put each team through the
paces.
With a roadblock high atop Mandalay Bay and a detour inside the Monte Carlo casino to count one million dollars worth of poker chips, the teams made a short pit stop to see Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton who guided the final Amazing Race pairs toward his Vegas estate where Amazing race host, Phil Keoghan waited with eliminated competitors for the first team to hit the mat and take both the 15th title of The Amazing Race and the million dollar prize. When the amazing Vegas stakes were over at the finish line, Meghan and Cheyne became this season's winners of The Amazing Race.
The next day we caught up with Amazing Race winners Meghan and Cheyne to find out what it feels like to win The Amazing Race, who Meghan and Cheyne considered their stiffest competition, how Cheyne overcame his fear of heights atop Mandalay Bay, how Meghan handled the grueling hay bale task, and the one part of The Amazing Race that Meghan and Cheyne wish got aired that fans didn't see.
THE DEADBOLT: So I was counting all the things that you guys won from each leg and it's like you won The Price is Right.
 MEGHAN
RICKEY: [laughs] Yeah right, the Showcase
Showdown.
THE DEADBOLT: So how are you guys going to fit in all of the trips?
CHEYNE WHITNEY: Well, I think we're
actually going to give one of our trips to Ericka
and Brian because they were great competitors
and they were great friends of ours. So I think
they're going to get to go to Lanai, Hawaii,
which will be cool for them because they never
got to do a real honeymoon. The race was kind
of like their honeymoon. But Meghan and I were
like, "This is no kind of honeymoon."
THE DEADBOLT: So who did you guys see as your main competition?
CHEYNE: You know, all of the teams were really strong on the starting line and we were like, "Damn, there's not one weak team." That's really how we felt. But as the competition went on, we knew Sam and Dan were competitors, Ericka and Brian always fought and they never gave up, and the Globetrotters were obviously a physical threat as a presence. But I think we really focused on ourselves, so we never worried about another team.
THE DEADBOLT: It didn't seem like you guys experienced the tactics by Sam and Dan like some of the other teams did. Was it because you were out in front most of the time?
CHEYNE: Yeah, I think that had to do with it. You know what? We really kept up our relations with them and we built friendships that worked big on the show. So although they might've stepped on other friends' toes, I think people weren't really out to get us in a way. Although we were winning, I think we really - during the downtime - tried to keep up relations, which was a huge part of our strategy.
THE DEADBOLT: When you look back, how do you feel about jumping in the cab and skipping out on the Globetrotters? If you didn't do that, would it have been different?
 CHEYNE:
I feel at this point in the race, that was my
move. I could've been more polite about it and
I think that was Meghan's point. It wasn't that
she didn't think we should bail out on the Globetrotters,
it was that I could've been more polite about
it.
MEGHAN: Our whole strategy going into the race was that we were going to be a nice team, because there was no reason to be a target. We were already winning legs and that already made us a target. But if we were a rude or obnoxious team winning legs, it would make it even worse. And the Globetrotters are the kind of people where if they get rubbed the wrong way, they make it a personal goal to get that team. So I had no problem taking that cab, I wanted to take that cab.
You know, Flight Time said, "What are you guys doing?" I said, "We're going to take that cab," and Cheyne just ignored them. They asked another question and Cheyne just ignored them. I was just trying to do good PR for our team and just tell them, "Hey, we're going to take this cab. We'll see you in fifteen minutes when you get there." I was just trying to be nice. There was no reason to be rude there.
CHEYNE: I was already incensed at Flight for going down the ladder slow, so I didn't care.
THE DEADBOLT: Cheyne, how did it feel to face your fear of heights at Mandalay Bay?
CHEYNE: Oh man, it was nuts. For the first hundred feet, I did have my eyes closed, because I knew if I didn't look down and I didn't look right away that I would have to be already committed and already into it. So I kept my eyes closed for the first little bit and once I opened them I actually enjoyed it. It was pretty crazy going down there although I think my harness wasn't correct because my feet actually were too far away from the building. So I was hanging there. Actually, it caused me to almost pass out because I wasn't able to breathe for the last two hundred yards. Meghan could see it on my face, I was gasping for breath as I tried to pull myself down. It was intense and crazy. But looking back, I'm so glad I got to do it.
THE DEADBOLT: Do you feel that there was a turning point in a specific leg where everything came together for you guys as a front running team?
 MEGHAN:
Yeah. I think a huge turning point in the race
was the Fast Forward in Dubai. It was the first
time we really got ahead ahead, it set us up
for the next leg, and it allowed us to gain
confidence for the rest of the race and feel
comfortable leading the pack. So it was a huge
turning point.
THE DEADBOLT: How did you feel about the hay bales?
MEGHAN: I hated the hay bales, they were awful. It was emotionally and physically draining out there for three and a half hours. There were a hundred and eighty six hay bales and seven flags and it was the most frustrating thing being out there for an hour and fifteen minutes before some of the other teams even arrived. It was just like we were out there unrolling the hay bales and making all of these teams chances of finding a flag a lot better. So it was very, very stressful. I got to the point where I was kind of getting delusional and was like, "I don't know if I can ever find this thing." It was very, very tough.
THE DEADBOLT: Was there anything you guys wish we saw that didn't get aired?
MEGHAN: Yeah, there is. There's one big thing. It was in Dubai when we took the Fast Forward. Cheyne and I were shocked when we saw this episode, because we had originally decided not to take the Fast Forward. Because I had talked Cheyne into not taking it, I told him, "We are the first group, let's just be safe. We're a few minutes ahead of everyone, we'll just get to the challenge and get it done." And Cheyne said, "No. This is our opportunity to break free from everyone and get in first place."
So we went back and forth and decided not to take it and went to a gas station with the other half of the teams that we were with to get directions to the reserve to do the water and earth challenge. I asked, "Do you know where the Autodrome is where the cars were?" He said, "Yeah, sure." So he started taking us, pulled over and said, "I have to go to work." He left us in the middle of the desert. So we roamed around the desert for about an hour and had no idea where we were going. He gave us horrible directions. It was literally in the middle of nowhere. So I tracked down a truck and begged him to take us there. He took us there and we had to sit through a thirty minute PowerPoint presentation on the rules of that track. I mean, literally two hours had passed on the Fast Forward.
 When
we watched the episode, it said, "Meghan and
Cheyne are taking the Fast Forward and they
arrive at the Autodrome." It was just like,
"Oh my gosh, you've got to be kidding me!" I
wish that part would've aired because I was
a little overwhelmed at the race track and I
had some tears and stuff. Everybody was like,
"What's her problem? Why is she overwhelmed?"
It was just like, "Oh my gosh, you have no idea
what we just went through."
THE DEADBOLT: As a couple, how did it bring you guys together?
CHEYNE: We've been friends since elementary
school and we were really good friends in high
school and we've been dating for five years.
So it wasn't really a make or break type situation.
It was more like how much closer it's going
to bring us together and it really did bring
us closer together. I mean, sharing this was
a life changing experience for each of us. Together,
as a couple, it's like having a lifetime of
experiences in a month.
THE DEADBOLT: So any wedding plans in Vegas?
CHEYNE: [laughs] I don't think so. Maybe after we get the check we'll start thinking about a wedding.
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