Host Phil Keoghan and "The Amazing Race" return to the airwaves on Sept. 30, straight from the show's ninth Emmy win for best reality competition -- and with a full complement of endearing, oddball and inspiring racers. Heck, we've only read the bios of these 11 teams, and we're already smitten, irked and bemused.

There's the usual assortment of "Amazing Race" archetypes: 20-something twins, besties, dating divorcees, reality TV celebrities who also happen to be gay, cowboys and/or farmers, quirky careerists and rabid bickerers who think they're smarter than everyone else. No clowns, but we do have a double-amputee competitive snowboarder, a professional heavy metal rocker, a lumberjack, two monster truckers and goat-farming city slickers who starred on a show the New York Times called "a gay 'Green Acres.'"

Here's the lowdown on the racers. "Amazing Race" airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBS. Join us here after the show for a recap of all the road blocks, detours and tantrums.