Speed skater

McKENZIE PASS — There’s Conan the Barbarian, Conan O’Brien and Arthur Conan Doyle.

And now, when it comes to famous Conans, there’s Conan the Skateboarder. But the question is: Can he also become Conan the World Record Holder come 2:15 p.m. today?

“I think I can,” Conan Gay said. “I’ve been training for over a year for this.”

This is the 38-year-old Eugene man’s attempt to ride his skateboard more than 242 miles — the current world record — in 24 hours. But it’s more than that, Gay said. In fact, it’s mostly about getting more exposure for the city of Eugene’s proposed skate park under the Washington-Jefferson Bridge, the ambitious almost-million-dollar vision known as Dreamland.

Gay, who’s been skateboarding for most of his life, since he was a boy growing up in Eugene, has been gathering pledges for every mile he goes in the record attempt to raise money for the skate park. The city has earmarked $292,000 for the project, but at least $300,000 more is needed to get it started.

Gay took off at precisely 2:15 p.m. Friday from mile marker 70 — elevation about 4,000 feet — on Highway 242, the Old McKenzie Highway.

“It’s ‘go time,’ ” Gay said as he shoved off, an entourage of supporters — including his son, Jacob, 16, and daughter, Daisy, 14 — on bicycles and traveling behind him in a van.

Gay, a machinist at All Pro Machine in Springfield, has been involved with the nonprofit organization Skaters for Eugene Skateparks and its efforts to raise money for Dreamland since early last year, he said. That’s when he came up with the idea of helping spur fund-raising by trying to break the Guinness Book of World Record mark set by Seattle’s Ted McDonald, better known as “Barefoot Ted,” who went 242 miles on his skateboard in 24 hours during Ultraskate IV in Seattle in 2008.

But it’s taken more than a year for Gay to get ready for his record run.

He took a trial run down Highway 242, a twisting, turning downhill run of old highway, on Sunday. On Friday, he reached speeds of almost 30 mph flying down the road, motorists heading the other way with surprised what-the-? looks on their faces as Gay passed them in the opposite direction, using his right foot as a brake and holding both arms out for balance on some hairy, 180-degree turns.

“Only 230 miles to go!” he hollered as he flew down a straightaway.

After he traverses Highway 126 along the McKenzie River and into Springfield, Gay planned to skate down Main Street, take a right on Mill Street, then a left on D Street, down to where it connects with the bicycle path that is part of the Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path System. From the entrance near D Street, it’s about 7.5 miles to the end of the bike path near Delta Highway. Gay’s plan is to skate back and forth on the Valley River side of the bike path and arrive in Alton Baker Park by no later than 2:15 p.m. today. If all goes as planned, he’ll actually end up having gone about 250 miles in 24 hours or less.

“I have no doubt I’ll make it 24 hours,” Gay said. “It’s just how many miles I get.”

By traveling an estimated 70 miles from his starting point Friday to the bike path, and then going back and forth on the 15-mile path a dozen times, Gay figures that’s 250 miles.

That’s like riding your skateboard from Eugene to Portland and back, and then, just for the heck of it, continuing on to Cottage Grove.

Gay even planned to get in a nap in the middle of the night. His girlfriend, Rachel Maida, planned to be in his van at one end of the bike path, and his parents planned to be in a camper on the other end by D Street, Gay said, thus providing a place to “crash” for a few moments if necessary.

In addition to having a backpack with a water bottle in it, connected to his mouth by a tube, Gay’s pockets Friday were stuffed with ginger root to chew on in case his stomach started bothering him with hunger pangs. And in the van were plenty of baked potatoes and peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches.

As of Friday, Gay said he had raised about $1,500 in pledges, but with sponsors Pulpit Clothing, Boardsports, Tactics Board Shop and the Eugene Rotary Club behind him, he hopes to raise more.

Whatever the amount raised, Gay knows it’s a small amount toward what’s needed for the skate park, but he hopes the publicity surrounding his record attempt will spur others to give.

Emily Proudfoot, a landscape architect with the city of Eugene who’s working on the Dreamland project, said at least $625,000 is needed to get going next year on the first phase of the project. And, if all the bells and whistles that are envisioned come to fruition, the total price tag will come close to $900,000, she said.

Skaters for Eugene Skateparks has raised $36,000 toward its goal of $250,000 to help the project, according to its website.

“Having Conan out there raising funds just shows the dedication local skaters have to make this project happen,” said Colette Ramirez-Maddock, the city’s skate program coordinator. “I’m just amazed by the creativity and the dedication they have for their sport.”