Eastern Cup Weekend

This past weekend a small crew headed over to Vermont for the opening weekend of Eastern Cup racing. We left Friday evening after the last exams, and headed out to Craftsbury and to the Brodhead's house for the night. Nate, Peter, Jim, and Andrea were all ready to race in the Skate Sprint on Saturday. The sprint was held on a 1.3 km loop at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, and the volunteers over there did a tremendous job putting the race together. All four Bobcats skied solid qualifying races. The field was very strong, and no one was able to make it into the rounds, with Andrea finishing just outside the top-30 in 34th.
After the races, we headed down to the Kuzio's in Moretown, to hang out for the evening before Sunday's race in Jericho. The crew watched the inspirational movie "Top Gun" before a wonderful lasagna dinner.
On Sunday morning we headed over to Jericho and were joined by Nat, Beth, Kirsten, and Danny for the Classic mass start race. Again, the conditions were good and the tracks held up well throughout the day, even for the 1:45 pm men's start. The girls all skied solidly, with Kirsten having an impressive day skiing out from the back of the field. The men all put together good starts as well, skiing consistent laps. Everyone who raced got good starts in.
We're on break for a bit now, everyone has headed home. We'll reconvene back at Bates in about 10 days, just in time to get together for the crew racing at Nationals in Rumford. We have a good group racing, and the rest of the team will have the opportunity to forerun the races up there.
Happy Holidays!

Fall 2010

Some highlights of fall training, set to some fresh tracks...

Meet the Bobcats: Danny Kuzio

The series is back with sophomore Danny Kuzio...

Where are you from originally?
Moretown, VT

What are you majoring in?
English and Environmental Studies

What is the best thing about being a Bobcat?
The Community atmosphere

Classic or Skate?
Classic

Favorite meal in Commons?
Eggplant with honey and sesame seeds

What's your favorite place to ski?
Silver Star, BC

What did you do this past summer?
I worked at a 1% for the Planet, a non-profit organization near where I live that creates an alliance of businesses committing to preserving the environment.

What's your favorite movie?
A River Runs Through It

When did you first start skiing?
I started skiing when I was in kindergarten in my local Bill Koch League.

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
If I could go anywhere it would be New Zealand.

Fotos from Canada

All photos courtesy of Nate Fuller '13.

Snow and Turkeys

We had a great camp this past week, skiing up at Foret Montmorency in Quebec. Last Sunday, we drove up to Stoneham after hearing that the skiing was decent at Montmorency. The trip up went smoothly, and we had a few moose sightings. On Monday morning, we got onto snow for the first times of the season with a double skate session. The skiing was much better than expected, and it was good to get out. Over six days, we got 9 skiing sessions in and one run/strength workout on Tuesday afternoon.
On Wednesday, we put in our first intensity workout on snow. We accomplished a ton technically. We had a great classic OD on Thanksgiving day, with everyone chipping in the evening to cook a great Turkey dinner, complete with all the fixings. On Saturday, we closed out a great week with most people competing in the US CAN Cup Classic sprints. Everyone got in a great hard effort, and it was impressive how everyone skied after putting in so many hours through the week. It was nice to get the race season underway as well.
Next year, we'll try to keep track of exactly how much Nutella and Duo spread we go through, but this year's total was nothing short of impressive. Overall, it was one of the best weeks of training this fall, and that's saying quite a lot. We're back to dryland for a little bit now, but with some skiing in the forecast. Fingers are crossed for getting some snow close by soon. Hopefully we can get some pics from the week up soon. Stay Tuned!

Acadia Weekend

The couple of weeks since Rangeley Camp have been great for the Bates Nordic team. We've put in some solid weeks of training in, and some great individual workouts. Two weekends ago, we headed over to North Haven for the annual Lobster Roll rollerski race. This past weekend we headed up to Northeast Harbor and Acadia for a mini-camp.
We left campus on Friday evening and made the drive up. The team woke up well-rested on Saturday morning, and we headed into the park to get some threshold work done. The team was able to ski the entirety of the Park Loop road (and a little extra for the guys). Everyone looked strong out there, and it was good to see some positive technique changes.
Saturday afternoon, we had a team wood-stacking session (Two cords in 45 minutes—pretty impressive!) followed by the Acadia Bowl (Men vs Women in Football). In the evening, everyone enjoyed a tasty lobster dinner.
On Sunday, we headed back into the park for an OD hike/run. The ladies hit three summits, ending at Jordan Pond, and the men hit four, ending atop Cadillac Mountain.

Rangeley Wrap

Sunrise in Rangeley

We got back from Rangeley yesterday, where we held our annual Fall Break camp. It was a great five days of training. We drove up last Tuesday night, after dinner on campus. A huge thanks to Connor and his family for letting the guys use their camp.
On Wednesday morning, we got things going with some lactate testing on the Saddleback access road. Everyone got some good info from the session, as well as a good rollerski in. In the afternoon, we ran the Uphill course, and then onto the trails for a bit.
Thursday had two tests on schedule. In the morning, we did the Uphill on Saddleback, and then in the afternoon, the double pole test. They were two great intensity sessions, and we followed up the double pole with some specific strength.
The 10 km classic rollerski time trial was on Friday morning. We took some video during it, and were able to do one-on-one video review with everyone before heading out for some classic technique work in the afternoon. Even after three intensity sessions in a row, everyone's energy remained high.

The Finish of the Classic time trial, snow on Saddleback in the background

Saturday morning, we headed over to Stratton, ME for a OD hike/run into the Bigelows. We had great weather, and we were rewarded with some spectacular views of the region.

Along the way

Summiting Cranberry Peak

The Crew on top of Cranberry

In the afternoon, the guys stacked a cord of wood, and then played a hotly contested Rangeley Bowl. Everyone got together for the Apple Pie making contest and some grilled chicken and burgers in the evening.

Rangeley Bowl action...

On Sunday, we capped of the training with a ski around the lake. It was another solid effort by everyone, and they were treated to a Sunday brunch cooked by Becky and Martin down at the Flynn camp.

Rangeley Camp

As we (Becky and Martin) sit here in the Rangeley Public Library, we realize what a great camp this has already been.
Yesterday saw great efforts in the Uphill run and Double-Pole test (800 meters). For the run, the podium for men was Sean, Jordan, and Captain Lucas. For women, it was Captains Nat and Megan, and then Beth. In the double pole, Jordan and Megan took top honors. Alex and Lucas rounded out for the men, and Beth and Nat for the women. After the test, everyone got some specific strength in on rollerskis. The highly valued sweatsuit awards were handed out after dinner last night to the male and female winners of both tests.
This morning, we saw the first snow flurries of the season as we headed up to the Saddleback access road for our 10 km classic rollerski time trial. Great efforts all around, especially as it was the third hard effort in as many workouts. Jordan and Megan once again posted the winning times. The trees on the mountain were dusted with a nice layer of the white stuff...
This afternoon, we'll head out to work on some technique stuff we saw in video from the time trial this morning. Should be another good session. Looking forward to a nice OD hike/run tomorrow. The Rangeley Bowl will be played tomorrow afternoon on The Field of Dreams.
As always, stay posted for more soon, and until then, check us out on Twitter @Bates_Nordic.

Fall Break is (Almost) Here

Its a busy couple of days here on the Bates campus, with midterm exams in full swing. The weekend was really productive. On Saturday, we drove out to do some threshold intervals in New Gloucester. Everyone got in the workout they needed, and then we headed back to campus for a weight room session. All around, a great morning.
On Sunday, we rolled out of the Alumni Gym parking lot just after 9 am, and skied all the way to the Fuller's house. A lunch of homemade lasagna and garlic bread was waiting for us there. After lunch we headed into Freeport for Trap Shooting at the LL Bean center. It was a long, but fun day of activity.
Check out some pictures (courtesy of Steve Fuller) from the day at: http://www.flyingpointroad.com/Photos/Skiing/Freeport-Rollerski-Trap-Shoot/
Now, we're looking ahead to putting in a great five days of training up in Rangeley. Its nice to have this Fall Break, and it will be a good opportunity for everyone to spend some quality time together. Looking forward to it, and we'll try and get some updates from up there.

Meet the Bobcats: Lucas Milliken

Next in the series, Lucas Milliken, our Sophomore men's captain...

Where are you from originally and where did you go to high school?
North Yarmouth, Maine my first two years of high school at Waynflete and my second two were at Burke Mountain Academy

What do you plan on majoring in?
Anthropology

What's the best thing about being a Bobcat?
Commons

What is the coolest place you've visited?
Home

Any predictions for the Rangeley Bowl?
Massive aggression, carnage, domination and bragging rights/glory

Classic or Skate?
20k skate

What did you do this past summer?
Lived at Pete Phillips' house, worked at the Mountaineer Garage Sale and trained with Dix and Champagne in Keene, NY

Favorite commons meal?
Toll House Pie

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Master chef cooking skills

When and where did you start skiing?
I started skiing with strap-on skis in my backyard at age two. Sam Tarling brought me to my first race in third grade. I got third... out of three behind Sam and Chase Marston. After the race I asked Chase if I could trade ribbons with him because red was my favorite color. He said No.

Hoofing It

We went over to Lost Valley for the first time this fall for some moosehoofing intervals. It was a great afternoon, and we got a really solid workout in. Nice to see everyone getting after it today.

Fall Colors at LV...

Nat leading the women...

Lucas and Sean leading the guys

First Days of Testing...

Over the last couple of days, and fitness tests, we've seen some exciting stuff. On Wednesday, we did the 3000 meter run in a solid downpour, with standing water on the track. Yesterday, we had people coming in through the day to do the 5 km (or 5000 m) SkiErg test. Everyone is well ahead of where they were last year. In addition, the folks who were abroad last fall, along with our first-years, have come in highly motivated. Its nice to get going with our official practices.
We've also done some technique work through our rollerskis this week. It has been an extremely productive first few days. We'll do our strength test tomorrow morning to finish up the baseline testing. Its also Parent/Families weekend here on campus, so we'll be having a little barbecue in the tailgate area during the Bates-Williams athletics contests.
Stay tuned, and follow us on the Twitter: Bates_Nordic.

And so it begins...

This coming week we are starting official practice. Thanks to our captains (Megan, Natalie, and Lucas), who have done a tremendous job overseeing daily practices to this point.
We are doing some of our traditional testing this week, starting with a 3000-meter run on Wednesday afternoon. We will follow that up on Thursday with our 5 km SkiErg test, and the strength test on Saturday morning. You can get updates through the week here on the blog, and even more frequent updates on our team by following @Bates_Nordic on Twitter (oh yeah).
Next weekend is also Parent/Family Weekend here on campus. We will be having a ski team (Alpine and Nordic) tailgate on Saturday for all the sporting events going on, as well as the opening of the newly renovated Garcelon Field. Just look for the Bates Skiing tent in the tailgate area. Also, parents and family members will be welcome at our Sunday OD at Pineland farms.

Meet the Bobcats: Natalie Ruppertsberger

In this episode of Meet the Bobcats, we talk to our Senior women's co-captain, Natalie Ruppertsberger. On to the questions...

Where are you from originally?
Plainfield, NH

What are you majoring in?
Biology

What did you do this past summer?
Worked on:
1) My tan
2) My thesis research

The coolest place you've visited?
Being in Sweden in the summer is awesome, the sun hardly sets and its never too hot or humid.

What's the best thing about being a Bobcat?
All-you-can-eat, every day, in Commons

What's your favorite movie?
"Catch me if you can" or "My cousin Vinny." It's a tie, they're both great movies.

What would your dream job be?
Firefighter, I love dalmatians.

What's your favorite place to ski?
My high school club team took a trip to Norway in March. It was sunny all the time, there was tons of snow, and they fed us blueberry soup.

What is your favorite Commons meal?
Thursday lunch: Pad thai, tomato soup, grilled cheese. Although I get a little overwhelmed by the number of delicious options.

When and where did you first start skiing?
I used to have my dog pull me around the yard on skis, pretending I was in the Iditarod. Actually, I still do that when no one is looking...

Thanks Nat!

Meet the Bobcats: Megan McClelland

First up in our exciting new Meet the Bobcats series is our Senior women's co-captain Megan McClelland.

Bates Nordic: Where are you from originally?
Megan McMclelland: Keene Valley, NY

BN: What is your major?
MM: Psychology

BN: Favorite ski team memory so far?
MM: I'm going to have to go with performing "Shirt Off" with Young Ivey as a Carni Crush for the Dartmouth boys Sophomore year.

BN: Classic or Skate?
MM: Classic

BN: If you could visit any place, where would it be?
MM: I've been dying to take a road trip across the Southern USA.

BN: What is your favorite place to ski?
MM: Avalanche Pass, Lake Placid, NY.

BN: What is the sweetest trick you've thrown down at Lost Valley?
MM: I'm a seated rail grinder for the most part, but have done anything from skiing backwards by the base lodge to lifting one ski up on my way down one of the black diamond hills.

BN: What is your favorite meal at commons?
MM: Butternut squash casserole and sesame vegan nuggets, although they rarely occur at the same time.

BN: When and Where did you first start skiing?
MM: Probably sometime between age 2 and 3 at Whiteface mountain.

BN: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
MM: Definitely the ability to fly.

BN: Thanks Megan!

You can check out Megan's freestyle skills in the movie "Goggles On", featured in this blog's archives under March 2009.

Better Late than Never... Summer Camp O TEN

I would first like to apologize to the women who attended the camp because I did not take any blog quality pictures of any of you. Due to this unfortunate fact, the Summer Stud O Ten competition will only feature men.

The very informal training camp was a big success. THANK YOU MCCLELLANDS for hosting us!!!!!!!!

We started the camp with an OD rollerski to Dogwood Bakery's Friday Pizza Night, which by the way has the best pizza in the upper east side (of NY state).

The next day we did speeds and spenst at the Keene Community Center. In the afternoon we did killer intervals on Jackson Rd.

Sunday was OD day, which happened to coincide with the Lake Placid Ironman. If you cannot tell from the pictures above, Fuller and Chill are Ironmen, or at least that is what one of the spectators told them as they biked along with the racers.

On Monday morning Kir led us through a strength circuit and then we played medball tennis... For the grand finally, with only three men left standing we did the Monday Night Mini-Tri in Lake Placid. Chill was the Bates winner, and an honorable mention goes out to the White Wizard for racing the bike leg on a mountain bike.

Training Camp Interview

The Silence Is Over. The Blog Lives On.

Summer has been going very well up here in Keene, New York. Megan and I have been killing the workouts, taking money from tourists and going on sweet adventures. We have a stellar—mostly female—crew here. Megan’s sister Janey and Caitlin Curran are here from the Groovy UV and Sophie McClelland from Middlebury is here as well. Our summer training group is officially named Dix and Champagne. My first week here, we hiked up Dix Mountain. Megan and Janey led us up one of the rockslides and then could not find the trail again, so we bushwhacked up the rest of the mountain. Champagne is a swimming hole up the road from my house. Scotty McClelland is our unofficial coach.

Dix is the biggest mountain in the back. And this is champagne at its finest.

June 16^th was a monumental day here. In the Great Adirondack Trail Run, an 11 mile race through the mountains, Megan regained her title as the fastest McClelland on the EISA circuit. She dominated her sister by a gaping four minutes and thirty seconds. Megan is Back.

On the hottest day of the heat wave, Emilie Drinkwater, a friend of the McClellands took us rock climbing on Lake Champlain. The cliffs dropped from a railroad bed straight into the water. Epic.

The Climbing photos are from Emilie Drinkwater at Couldsplitter Guides.

End of the Season Thank You

Things are pretty quiet on campus these days, with almost everybody currently on April Break. We had our end of the season banquet a few weeks back and it was good to see everybody together again, for a little bit. The annual Lloyd Lux award was handed to our two captains this year, Abby and Harry. Thanks to the whole team for a great season though, and we're already looking forward to next fall.
Becky and I just wanted to thank all the parents as well for all their support and hospitality over the the course of this past season(s).
First off, a huge thanks to the Pooles for what was (I believe) their 7th straight season of providing food and cheering every carnival weekend and plenty of other times as well. Even when they weren't able to make it in person, a batch of Liz's chocolate chip cookies somehow found there way out there.
Also, thanks to the Samuelsons for another great year. Thanks for lots of food and of course, housing us at Sugarloaf. Likewise thanks to the Knowles' for their place at Sugarloaf, and always bringing food, even if some of it did end up with the St. Lawrence team.
A thank you to Kirsten's parents and family for hosting the team at the Jackson Crit back in January. The McClellands for hosting the women during the St. Lawrence carnival, and having the whole team over for dinner. The Smeltzers and Kuzios also hosted team dinners, during the UVM and Dartmouth carnivals, respectively.
The Fullers had us over for lunch back in the Fall and provided great support through the year. Thanks to Steve Fuller for taking great pictures throughout the season and helping out with waxing up at the Rumford Eastern Cups.
Thanks to all the families who gave their support during carnival weekends in food and cheering. The aforementioned families, but also to the Brodhead, Taylor, Ruppertsberger, Hill, Tuttle, Kreisman, Forrest, and Leonard families. Also, great to see the Ruppertsbergers out in Steamboat! It was great to have all of your support this season. It is one of the many reasons that Bates Skiing is among the best programs. Thank you all!

Back from NCAAs

Mid-morning in Steamboat.
Well, the final week of the college racing season is over. We got back from our week in Steamboat Springs on Sunday night. It was a great week all around. Wonderful weather, perfect tracks, plenty of snow, etc. Nat had an awesome attitude all week. The two went race days went smoothly, with Nat posting 18th in the classic, and 32nd in the skate. The Mass Start Skate was a tough day, but Nat skied a strong race and posted a solid result in 32nd. On Friday night, it was great to watch 'Piner Ben Manter post a 10th place finish in the night slalom for an All-American finish. Also, a huge thanks to Abby for being out there cheering on her teammates and providing the coaches with a seemingly endless supply of coffee.

The (Rodeo) Stadium on race morning.
Meanwhile, back in Maine, we had Lucas and Kelsey competing up at Junior Olympics. Both had great results up in Presque Isle competing in their final years as Juniors. Lucas finished 8th in the classic sprints, 9th in classic distance, and an 11th in the skate distance. Also, his relay team earned the 4th spot for OJ men. Kelsey ended up 24th in both classic races, and 26th in the skate distance race. She also posted the 9th fastest scramble leg time for OJ women. Congrats to both of them on great JO results.
A final shout-out to Kirsten for winning the Ski to the Clouds race up Mt. Washington.

Kir ripping it up. (Great Glen Photo)

Steamboat Springs and NCAAs

Just a quick update from the past several days in Steamboat Springs, CO. We got here last Saturday, after a long day of travel from Maine. The skiing has been great out here! There's plenty of snow, and a few storms this week brought in a few more inches. One of the storms happened to coincide with the classic race. The waxing was a little tricky, but we got Nat on some skis that had solid kick and were pretty fast on the downs. Natalie skied a great race. Really smart, relaxed, and technically strong. The result was an 18th place finish. Top-20 had been her goal going into that race. Mission accomplished. Tomorrow we move to the 15 km skate race. Should be a good one...

Goggles On

Another great day of training at Lost Valley...

Midd Carnival

Last weekend marked the final Carnival of the year, also serving as the Eastern Regional Championships. Due to some unpredictable weather last week, the racing was postponed to Saturday and Sunday. On Friday morning we headed over to Middlebury, stopping to ski at Rikert before settling in.
On Friday night, we had our banquet, and everyone was looking pretty classy due to the "business casual" dress code. The Academic All-Americans were announced, with a strong crew from Bates Nordic represented. Nat, Abby, Cooper, Smeltzer, Corey, and Lucas all garnered the honors.
Saturday saw the 10/5 km Classic races. The weather conditions were all over the place, and most of our team ended up going on zeroes. They weren' t awesome, but they were the most consistent and predictable. Ultimately, it was a very good day. Beth posted a career-best finish with 9th place on the day, which was awesome to see. Nat continued her strong season with 13th. Kir rounded out the scoring in 23rd. Behind those three, the women skied to a 4th place finish on the day. On the men's side, Senior Cooper lead the way with 17th, besting his 20th place from last weekend's classic race. Captain Harry had a solid race to end up in 27th, and Lucas was our third scorer in 35th.

The Start of the Women's Race (Lincoln Benedict Photo)
On Sunday, the weather was warm and the early tracks were fast. The 15 km Women's race started things off. Nat and Beth once again lead the way, finishing in 13th and 14th. Captain Abby had a strong finish to her collegiate career with 24th, fighting the entire race. Gretch and Megan rounded out the team, in 29th and 38th. For the men's team, Lucas lead the way. He picked up spots through the entire race, and finished a career-best 14th place. Cooper wasn't far behind in 16th. Harry had a solid outing, ending up in 33rd. Danny and Corey ended up in 53rd and 55th. It was a solid end to the Carnival season this year. Congrats to our team for a great season. Nat will be heading out to Steamboat to represent Bates at NCAA Championships, hosted by Colorado-Boulder. She is joined by two men from the Alpine Team in forming the Bates contingent.
This weekend was the last collegiate racing action for Abby, Harry, Cooper, and Smeltzer. They have all given so much to this program over the last four years, and they will certainly be missed when they graduate in May. A special thanks to Captains Abby and Harry for all their hard work this year.

Training at Lost Valley

Williams Carnival and Cheri Walsh

Lucas at Williams (Lincoln Benedict photo)
After our week-long February break, the team headed down to Prospect Mountain near Bennington, VT for the Williams Carnival. There was plenty of fresh snow and temps in the mid-20s to remind us what winter really feels like. The weekend was a 10/5 km classic on Friday, and a 10/5 km skate on Saturday.
The day was highlighted by Harry's season-best 14th place finish. Cooper had a very solid race and ended up in 20th. Danny Kuzio continued his strong second half of the season with a 32nd. Lucas was only 5 seconds behind in 34th. Behind those finishes, the Men ended up 6th on the day.
On the Women's side, Natalie once again led the day, finishing in 12th. Abby and Gretchen both had strong classic finishes, ending up in 21st and 24th, respectively. Kirsten and Beth weren't far off finishing up the day in 30th and 31st.
For Saturday's Skate race, the Women got the team off to a blazing start. Three women posted career-best freestyle results. Nat was in 7th, Kir in 10th, and Beth in 13th. It wasn't surprising to see those results, that's where the girls have been skiing towards over the last couple of weeks, but it was really exciting to see it all come together on the same day. Abby and Meg also had strong races, finishing in 34th and 35th, only 30 seconds out of the top-15 as well. As a team, the Women ended up 3rd on the day. It was their 3rd podium finish in as many weeks.
The Men had some solid performances, with Lucas leading the team tied for 28th place. Cooper was second for the team again, in 40th. Harry rounded out the scorers in 47th. The times for both races were extremely tight, and 5 seconds meant a difference of several spots. Overall, it was a solid Carnival weekend, and the team is fired up for Middlebury Carnival/Eastern Championships this coming weekend.
On Sunday, a smaller group headed over to Holderness School for the final race of the Eastern Cup season. Sophie, Kelsey, and Sam all raced for the women, posting solid times on the blazing fast course. Corey, Jim, Dan, and Isaac raced on the men's side, skiing well through the mud, slush, and ice that made up the course. The conditions were fast, the times close, and Corey just missed out on Junior Nationals for New England.

Dartmouth Carnival Recap

Corey in the relay (Lincoln Benedict photo)

We just got back yesterday afternoon from the Dartmouth Carnival, held up at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. The team had a strong weekend, with the Women finishing 3rd on Friday and 4th on Saturday.
Nat lead for a big chunk of the race, pulling the top women's group through the middle of the race. She had a great finish as well, ending up 5th. It was the second top-5 of her season, and the third of her career. Abby also skied a great race and ended up 17th. Gretch and Beth skied around her most of the race and finished close behind in 21st and 22nd. Kir and Kelsey also skied strong races for the Bobcats.
For the Men, Lucas and Coop skied pretty much the entire race together. Their combined efforts and energy paid off, as they ended up 22nd and 23rd. Danny Kuzio skied an awesome race and ended up 29th, cracking into the top-30 for the first time in his young Carnival career. Corey also skied well, finishing 38th. Harry lost a ski early on and didn't have his best day, Jim had a solid outing to round out the other Carnival skiers.
On Saturday, it was on to the 3x5 km skate relay. The men skied a strong race, with the team of Harry, Coop, and Lucas scoring. The team of Danny, Corey, and Jim skied a strong race as well, and weren't far off.
For the women, Nat, Beth, and Abby skied to a 4th place team finish. Gretch, Kir, and Kelsey made up the second team, and ended up 12th overall.
After the races, it was Carni Crush time. Always entertaining, and the quartet of Lucas, Danny, Corey, and Jim did a great rendition of "You've Lost That Loving Feeling"

Don't let the look fool you, Abby means business (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Showing some love (Lincoln Benedict photo)

Righteous Brothers? (Lincoln Benedict photo)