He will have skated on every street in Alameda County.

"It was mostly just exercise," said Monroe, a Rockridge resident. "It was a way to burn some calories. I just wanted to see where I could get. It got out of hand."

In the beginning, Monroe would begin and end at his home, pushing a little farther each time. Then he set the goal of skating every street in Oakland.

Like Forrest Gump on wheels, once Monroe finished the 831 miles of Oakland streets, he decided to keep on skating. He rapidly covered Piedmont's 42 miles of streets and Emeryville's 17 miles. Alameda's 120 miles were a pleasant surprise for him, except for maze-like Bay Farm Island. He enjoyed East and West Oakland.

"One fellow in East Oakland yelled at me, 'What's your shoe size?'" That got my attention, so I stopped to chat and he gave me a pair of skates," Monroe said.

Monroe rotates through seven pairs of skates. He estimates he has gone through hundreds of wheels. Braking while descending the slopes of the Oakland hills really chews them up.

The 50-year-old Apple Computer programmer has spent half his life on this quest. He telecommutes, giving him time and energy for the road, and the pace has quickened as his goal came within reach.

"I started 25 years ago, but 10 years ago it became a plan," Monroe said. "If you looked at the map I've yellowed in over time, I'd say I've done 30 percent of it in the last year."

Monroe said all that remains of his Alameda County mission is a bit of the area around Skyline High.

After that, he is already talking about a roll through the towns in the North Bay.