Dillingham Haggblom

Loose Dog Report--11/11/09 Review

Ok, there was shephard mix Olson coming out of Dennis Olson’s driveway at about mile 6.5 as I headed northbound 11/08/09 on the group ride.  Then, as I passed mile 7, I heard a bark and saw a dog closing fast on me as I rode northward.  Could have been one of Susan Mitchell’s dogs.  A medium sized dog, sort of healer-ish looking, a little taller and leaner though, and definitely athletic.  The dog ran very fast once it saw me on the road and had no problem catching up, then barked and growled at me.  It eventually slowed and turned around.  On the way back, both Olson shephards came out of their driveway at me, and I heard someone saying something to them.  Then, black lab Krause came out from his house onto the road after me.  There was also a tethered young black dog at that house with standup ears. That was Sunday.

On Tuesday’s (11/10) ride in—Lake Road, mile 2—a tan dog came charging out of the Sassa Ruby home growling and barking at me.  I heard a male voice say something to it.  I stopped at the dentist for my appointment.  Then proceeded to work southbound on the Lake Road, where a woman walked northbound on the Lake Road sidewalk with her small to mid size white dog loose about 100 feet ahead of her.  Glad I wasn’t on the sidewalk.  On the ride home—as I proceeded on Waskey just past Vidavic Apartments and passed the new group home facility on the left—I heard the barking of a small dog.  Thought it was restrained, but no, out it came after me in the dark, growling and barking at my heel.  Lovely.  Don’t remember any other loose dogs on the ride home, but there were some fireworks around Emperor Way.

On Wednesday’s (11/11) drive (yes, drive) outbound—Kanakanak Road sidewalk on the flats—a man walked towards town with his dog’s leash in his pocket.  His dog was loose about 50 feet to his side, sniffing around in the median.  Further along, a black lab with a collar cruised along the Lake Road sidewalk around mile 0.5 or so, although I’m having a hard time remembering his location.

Before it got cold, I saw Louie Jones along Kanakanak Road with a dog—which I thought was surprising since I didn’t think he owned a dog, and I was used to seeing him on the sidewalk walking alone.  At first the dog was on a leash, but the last two times I saw him, they were on the sidewalk and the dog was not leashed.

Gees, I know there are some I missed.  I have a habit of forgetting stuff as soon as I get to work or home if I don’t write it down immediately.

Group ride--11/08/09

It was about 4F when I first got up this morning. By the time I rolled out of the driveway at 11:45 am, it had warmed up to about 14F. I decided to try my Patagonia (P) expedition weight tank, with P silkweight bottoms layered under P expedition weight bottoms. I was tired of getting cold legs. Wore the P special top I made from a midweight crew torso and expedition weight arms, then wind pants and wind coat. Wore P expedition weight socks in Teva winter hiking boots. Can’t remember if I wore a silkweight balaclava or a heavier weight one, but wore an OR earband, thinsulate gloves. It was clear with some wind, which I think was north westish. I pedaled to Ravensview, trying out different places to ride. There was actually more rideable road with the snow edge extending out from the pavement edge, and that snow was nicely packed. The car tire tracks made the right edge of the lane groovy and a little unpredictable, so I chose to ride on the snow when I could. I was content with the view when I got to Ravensview and with the cold weather workout, so turned around there. I was also just roasting. My expedition weight tank was too heavy for the exertion, and my fingers were getting wet from sweat. My toes were fine and my legs were good—not cold like usual. I was out about 40 minutes, and went about 7 miles. My bike worked good—all cables worked fine the whole time, although I was expecting some gear cable inconsistencies.

Commute--11/02/09-11/06/09

Monday’s morning commute was the last morning in with summer tires. As I descended the blind curve on the Lake Road just south of the Nerka Loop intersection, it was fortunate I was on the road shoulder instead of the sidewalk, because a large piece of heavy equipment, a forklift maybe, was parked squarely on it. Took up the whole thing. Just 50 feet south of a sideroad and parking area. Huh. How long was that there? Big, yellow, parked—pretty tidy parking job, actually. I would have hit it head on had I been on the sidewalk. The city’s? Could have been. The State’s? Probably not. A local contractor, say Alaska West? Think so—since Alaska West is located on the next road south and some folks identified it as such later. Now that would have been an interesting story—cyclist crashes into dead parked forklift on sidewalk. How many cyclists can lay claim to that? The commute continued.

There was debris of various sizes covering the Kanakanak Road sidewalk from the Lake Road intersection to the guardrail curve. Lovely—people drive motorized vehicles on the gravel median between the road and sidewalk and cover it with gravel. And there it stays, not to be swept. The sidewalk adjacent to the flats into town was also covered, from the crumbling road and inadequate road repairs, and yes, people in motorized vehicles spraying the sidewalk. Stays there, too. On to the end of the sidewalk because I couldn’t get off of it at the “pedestrian” crosswalk to make the left turn I needed to make (because traffic doesn’t stop), and a cut through the AC parking lot. Not much wind, and temps were in the mid 20s. The next day it snowed, and the studded tires went on Wednesday evening, so Thursday was the first ice bike of the season. I left at 6:45 am, took Waskey Road and Wood River Road (the most hostile road to cyclists in the area), and got to work around 8:15 am. It was 7.8 miles. Went pretty slow on the ice, but other than Wood River Road, was an enjoyable ride. I repeated the TrustMyTires mantra in my head.

The way home was more eventful. As the light faded to dusk then to dark, I pedaled outbound on Waskey towards the Lake Road. At the tundra opening on the back side of Alder Street, a large brown object emerged onto the left side of the road from the tundra, about 50 feet ahead of me. I was on the right side of the road. It’s nose was about a third of the way across, when I realized the nose was attached to an adult cow moose, and adult cow moose 2 was right behind her, her nose on moose 1’s haunch. Looking like she didn’t want to get lost crossing the road. Perhaps my jingle bells alarmed them into a trot. The first thing I said out loud was “Ohmygod”, and when I realized I was very close to riding into them, I said something else, not to be mentioned here. I had enough time to brake lightly and steer to the left, as they moved to my right across the road. I passed behind moose 2. I am so happy they did not stop in the road. I was close enough to realize that my bike would have cleared their bellies, but I would have hit them at throat level—ouch. As I kept pedaling, I couldn’t believe what just happened—wow. Then I thought about all the components I just had replaced on my bike and what a drag if I had wrecked. Then I thought, “What the heck were those moose crossing a road without reflective vests on?” There ought to be a law.

So, I traded the motorized vehicles on the narrow, icy, Lake Road for the moose on wide, icy, Waskey Road. Huh.

Group Ride--10/31/09

24F, clear, dry, moderate nw wind, 11 miles.  I set out at 10:35 am, but heard a disk brake rubbing after turning onto Polar Way.  I couldn’t identify if it was front or rear, so went back home, spun the wheels, couldn’t hear much in the way of rub, but adjusted the front pad a bit because it looked like it could have been rubbing.  Started again, couldn’t hear any rub in the driveway (which is gravel), got on Polar Way, there it was again.  Went back, put the bike in the stand, and there was no rub on the brakes.  The rear inboard brake pad looked like it might rub a little, so I adjusted that one out.  Set out again, didn’t hear rub, until I turned into the emergency phone pull out before Snake Lake Road, then heard rub again.  I did forget to oil my chain, however, so had dry chain noises to accompany me.  Once again, off the bike, there was no rub, and on the bike there was.  So, on the way home, I figured that when I sat on my bike, my weight changed the distance between the disk and the pads, and they should be adjusted with me on the bike as opposed to the bike being in the stand.  The mountains looked pretty in the morning sun and there was more motorized traffic during this ride (clear and dry weather) than there was during last week’s ride (rainy weather).

Loose Dog Report--10/30/09

Inbound, about mile 4.5 Lake Road, north of the Dillingham Bed & Breakfast sign—light retriever mix, perhaps and black dog, on the west side of the road.

Group Ride--10/24/09

Paul was probably happily working on his motorcyles indoors in cushy Anchorage while Tom and Lisa set off for Snake Lake.  There was no snow or ice on the ground, and it oscillated between mist and rain.  Think the temp was about 35F at the start at about 10:35 am. Didn’t notice the Southish wind until the ride home, but it wasn’t much.  Tom helped Lisa right a wrongly threaded bolt (whoops, backwards) to correct a front derailluer cable issue.  They adjusted her rear brake as well so she had one, something that one does not want to be without on Snake Lake Road.  Tom’s brake inbound knob acted up by loosening itself, so he tightened it a few times during the ride.

The road had been repaired in some places, but if there was fresh rock dumped on the three lowest spots, it was gone and those spots were flooded again.  As I tried to remember the parking spots for the hikes, we rode down to the lake.  Tom tried to launch his bike into the water, while I cowardly stopped further up.  We cooled down fast while snacking, so didn’t stay long.  On the climb back up to the hairpin turn, a few of Tom’s gears took an untimely sabbatical.  We think it was the accumulation of all things grinding in the drivetrain.  When we flew down the last hill, our bikes made all kinds of sounds from debris—cranks, brakes, and gears all had little songs going on.

Riding the paved road back seemed easy in comparison.  My ride was 28.4 miles, Tom’s was 36.4.  I was happy to get home and off the saddle, around 2:45 pm.   My bike looked like it had fun, like a kitchen looks like after a fun meal was prepared in it—stuff everywhere.  I changed, downed a Hammer gel or 2, a Luna Bar, water, then joined the motley crew adding on to my wood shed for some carpentry.  I had this vision of them on a couch watching football during the ride, but no, they braved “the MIST” and built stuff.

Group Ride and Loose Dog Report--10/17/09

Paul, Tom, and me left the Ladybug House by 9:40 am.  It was 35F, a light northish wind, and we had a wee bit of snow northbound on the Lake Road.  Wow—haven’t had 3 people on a group ride in a long time.  Conversation ranged from sore muscles to plugged noses to riding on the road shoulder compared to the multi-use path (it was a joy to hear someone else call it what it is).  We turned around at the pullout south of the entrance to Pfeiffer Creek—so Paul could make it to work on time.  We contemplated riding to Snake Lake next week, and, much to my resistance, agreed to meet tomorrow morning for a Snake Lake Mountain hike.  Before Paul had to be at work.  Hmm—that meant a Ladybug House departure by vehicle by 8:45 am.  Isn’t it still dark then?

German Shepherd Dogs Olson barked and came out onto the road from their driveway, then a little further south Black Lab Krause carried a large bone from their driveway toward his driveway, on the west side of the road.

P.S.—hike was fun with snow flurries and wind atop, in 35F.

Loose Dog Report--10/15/09

Way home, about mile 3.5 Lake Road, south of Crowberry Street, west side—black and white husky type on road shoulder, moved into motorized vehicle lane after I passed.  Think I’ve seen this dog before in this vicinity—a husky that hasn’t seen much in the way of exercise lately.

City Annexation--10/15/09

The short story is:  The city council approved their motion to draft a petition that included areas 2 and a modified area 1 for annexation at their special meeting tonight.  Area 2 is Nushagak Bay and the modified area 1 is Wood River—water, not land.  So, consultant Shienberg will have the petition drafted for the December council meeting, with various tax structures to be decided upon.  At this time, there will be no annexation of the Lake Road north of the city limits (areas 3 and 4), Warehouse Mountain Road (including the roughly 240 privately owned remote lots between that road and Warehouse Mountain and parts of Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, area 6), Snake Lake Road and adjacent uplands (think this was area 5), or uplands on the east side of Wood River (area 7). 

At the workshop preceding the meeting, Sheinberg presented a roughly 20 page packet including 2 maps, tax structures, Kodiak tax ordinance, and tables comparing revenue generated by the 7 possible annexation areas.  The tables showed what past city councils had deduced—revenue generated by taxes collected in areas 3 and 4 (where people lived year round) were low.  Combined with strong opposition by people living in areas 3 and 4, who would have to produce a majority vote in favor of annexation, annexing areas 3 and 4 looked too problematic compared to annexing area 2, Nushagak Bay.  Since no one lives in the Bay, no vote is needed, and no more services need to be rendered.  Yet the revenue generated by fish taxes is sizable.  The council talked about being a good neighbor to Clark’s Point and Manokotak, so their considerations would be taken into account as part of the annexation process.  Area 1, originally mapped as the lower part of Wood River, will be changed to include upper Wood River, in the event another special harvest commercial salmon opening happens there.

I had a public comment drafted ready to read in the event the city approved a petition for area 3, where I live, which would have explained why I opposed it.  I didn’t have to read it.  However, since I have personal experience with the city not following up on actions it says it will do, I will continue attending council meetings until the annexation process is complete.  I also urge voters to educate themselves about the petition and attend council meetings so they understand what is going on and can contribute public comment.  The intent is that it is a win-win situation.  I can also foresee that if voters do not understand the petition, they will vote no, which will then throw the spotlight back on my area. 

For more details about Sheinberg’s packet and the proposed petition, contact City Hall (842-5251) and ask for the city clerk.  I will have an electronic version of her packet available to email to folks if the city cannot provide one.  City council meetings are usually the first Thursdays of every month, but they’ve already rescheduled the November one until the second Thursday.  So, check on their website or call them for updated information.  They also throw in other meetings—so it requires staying on top of their schedules.  This petition motion was at a special meeting, not a regularly scheduled one, for example.

This was the crucial meeting for out-of-bounders to attend to oppose annexation of them, yet I was the sole representative of the group to attend.  I can only hope that others made their opinion known in other ways.  I do not know what would have happened had I not been there—I hope my presence was a factor in their decision.  It is as difficult for me to attend meetings as anyone else, but if the city council does not see people attend their meetings and offer comment, they will assume people do not care and they can proceed with doing whatever they vote on.  They did not know what some of us know about gravel pit and quarry status, projects requiring pit material (this factored into revenue), what that material was needed for, or where it was going.  They did not know how local fisherman conduct their financial business (important for creating the tax structure for annexation).  They did not know the intent of subdivision development (for revenue generation).  They did not know the status of occupied lots between Warehouse Mountain Road and Warehouse Mountain (for revenue generation). 

There is stuff they do not know, and apparently, do not find out on their own.  If they don’t know this stuff, they will make poor decisions, and you will not be happy with those decisions. Follow through with the annexation process and educate the people involved with making the decisions.  Tell people what is going on and encourage people to be informed.  Annexing the water is a good thing—but it will backfire if people don’t get it.  Then, we’ll be right back here trying to keep from being annexed.  I’m ready for a break when it comes to fighting the city, and ready to finally enjoy where I live without fear of having to move again.