Going in Circles : ‘Ferrisnaut’ Trying to Break His Own Record

When asked why he and Sir Edmund Hillary tried to conquer Mt. Everest, British mountaineer George Leigh Mallory said simply: “Because it is there.”

That’s pretty much the reason Jeff Block wants to break his own world record by spending 38 days on a Ferris wheel.

“I’m just doing it to do it,” said Block, 36, a Fullerton College custodian who began his record-breaking attempt Thursday on the old-fashioned carnival ride at the Orange County Fairgrounds. “. . . I just like Ferris wheels.”

Block’s mother and his girlfriend think he’s crazy. As do the guys at work, who call him “Dizzy” and have threatened to throw tennis balls and shoot water- and paint-guns at him while he rides.

But Block insists he is just “kind of an oddball” who sometimes does crazy things. Fair organizers invited him to break the record as a creative tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Ferris wheel’s debut at the Chicago World’s Fair.

For Block, it’s a vacation.

He is taking unpaid leave from his job but will get $100 a day, plus living expenses, from the fair. If he breaks the record, the pot is fattened with donated prizes from local businesses, including a 14-carat gold Ferris wheel tie tack.

The 52-foot wheel that Block will call home for the next 5 1/2 weeks was built in 1948 and originally sold for $7,425. At top speed, the wheel turns 6.75 times a minute; if he breaks the record, Block will have gone around nearly 100,000 times, traveling the equivalent of 2,750 miles.

Even James (Happy Jack) Jackson, who ran away to the carnival at age 14 and then spent two decades running Ferris wheels (he was even married on one), thinks Block is a bit nuts.

“He’s not as smart as I am, or he wouldn’t sit up there on that thing,” said Jackson, who is responsible for making sure the wheel runs safely and for breaking it down into 822 pieces between stops on its 16-week anniversary tour.

Block first found his way into the Guinness Book of World Records back in 1978. Then “a crazy 21,” unemployed and bored, he answered a want ad in San Jose seeking a “Ferrisnaut” to break the 29-day endurance record.

Back then, Block shared the spotlight with Rena Clark, who also answered the ad. The two sat on opposite sides of the wheel--for balance--but often yelled across to one another. They also befriended many of the park workers, who climbed aboard the wheel after hours to party with the record-breakers.

“It was pretty boring--and real hot,” Block said. “My posterior, that will probably be the hardest, my sore butt. It’s long hours riding that wheel.”

This year’s ride also began with a newspaper blurb, when fair organizers put out a call for Ferris wheel memorabilia to celebrate the 100th anniversary. Block offered his scrapbook of the record-breaking San Jose ride, and fair officials asked him to ride again.

“Why not?” Block said to fair officials and again in an interview this week. “I know what’s expected, I know what I need and I know I can do it.”

Block is bringing a Walkman portable stereo, two seat cushions, fans, a police scanner, a black-and-white TV, hand-held blackjack and poker games and a couple dozen books. And batteries, lots of batteries--$125 worth.

He plans to wake with the sun, shower on the fairgrounds, then eat a breakfast of cornflakes while going around.

For every hour he rides, Block earns a five-minute break, which can be stored up to as much as two hours, according to Guinness rules. He can use the time to disembark and go to the bathroom. The wheel will also stop while Block curls up in a sleeping bag on a wooden plank that Jackson’s crew will place on the wheel. Fair-goers can join Block for 50 cents a ride.

“I can’t wait until it’s over, I hope it goes fast,” said Doreen Van Lith, Block’s girlfriend, who was on hand with his mother, brother and sister to watch him start his journey Thursday.

“Andy Warhol said everybody has 15 minutes of fame, but Jeff wants a half an hour,” Van Lith said, laughing. “I hope he’s happy after that.” She will not join Block on the wheel because she is afraid of heights.

Last night, Van Lith joined Block at the base of the wheel for a candlelight dinner sent over by the Ritz-Carlton hotel. During the fair, Block will also get chiropractic therapy, a massage, a haircut and a manicure, all donated by local businesses.

Block, who has been on a Ferris wheel only once or twice since 1978, shrugs off his stunt, wondering why anyone makes such a fuss.

Among the impressed are John Hancock, 61, and Julianna Aguirre, 46, an Anaheim couple who rode a Ferris wheel on their first date, got engaged on the carnival ride and, during this year’s fair, will be married while Block goes round and round.

“Both of us love Ferris wheels, but you’re talking 38 days?” said an astonished Hancock. “Maybe 38 consecutive rides I could go for, but 38 days! That’s an awful long time.”