125 тисяч миль за 125 днів безперервно: подорож ветерана ВМС триває

Traveling on any road for a thousand miles in one day is tough. It takes time, a reliable means of transportation, and, above all, a lot of motivation. Doing it for 125 straight days is something that very few people could pull off. Yet that’s exactly what Patrick Cornell committed to doing on May 1. He isn’t out chasing miles for bragging rights, though; instead, he’s trying to save lives. The 60-year-old Navy veteran, retired firefighter, and 9/11 first responder has lived a life of helping others.Not All Heroes Wear CapesThat hasn’t stopped in retirement, though. He set out to ride 1,000 miles every single day for 125 straight days on his 2025 Indian Pursuit to raise awareness for the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation. Not only did he hit that goal, but 10,000 miles later, he’s still riding.Read: Record-Setting Koenigsegg Agera RS Gets A Special Wrap For A Good CauseFor him, this mission is personal. Myotonic Dystrophy (DM) is a progressive, inherited neuromuscular disease that has devastated his wife Janice’s family for generations. “It’s affected sisters, cousins, nieces, grandparents – this disease touches every corner of our family,” Janice explains.Patrick first learned of the condition when he met his then-future wife back in 2016. Since then, he’s been a part of several fundraising efforts with Team Farmer’s Daughters. This year marks the 125th year of business for Indian Motorcycles, so Patrick and the bike manufacturer teamed up. Indian donated the Pursuit to enable this wild ride: 125,000 miles in 125 days with a fundraising target of $125,000. Donations benefit MDF’s research and patient-support programs and align with International Myotonic Dystrophy Awareness Day on September 15.“Myotonic Dystrophy is a terrible disease. It’ll affect your lungs, it’ll affect your heart, it’ll affect your brain, your esophagus, and more. My wife’s sister passed away from Myotonic Dystrophy. Many in her family have defibrillator pacemakers to jumpstart their heart if needed,” Patrick told Carscoops. Needless to say, fundraising for this cause is close to Cornell’s heart. As such, he needed a motorcycle that would be up for the challenge.The Bike: Built To Endure While Indian donated the motorcycle, Cornell was the one who picked out what he wanted. His steed of choice was the PowerPlus Pursuit, a fully-loaded touring machine with a 112-cu-in V-Twin that makes 126 hp (93 kW) and 133 lb-ft (180 Nm) of torque. While it’s a great base to start from, Cornell outfitted it with an auxiliary fuel tank, a farkle bar, and hydration and cooling tanks.The auxiliary fuel tank is a huge upgrade, he says. While it takes longer to fuel up, the trade-off is well worth it: “The difference is you can go 400 miles between stops rather than just 200, you’re not getting off the highway, you’re not swiping your card, you’re not slowing down, pulling in, and burning more time.”One of the most important upgrades is one that he rarely looks at: his seat. “You’re spending a lot of time on it. I have a custom-made seat from Russell Delong that fits me perfectly. Ultimately, though, I don’t care what seat you’re on; at some point, it is going to get hot or wet, so I also have a Wild Ass seat cushion that eliminates pressure points and channels rainwater away so you’re not sitting in a puddle. “Running a farkle bar enables Cornell to keep every piece of vital information right in front of him. He runs Waze, a radar detector, comms, and more from it. All of these modifications and additions make the ride one that Cornell describes as “sitting in my La-Z-Boy, watching the National Geographic channel all day long.” How has the Indian held up over what is now a 135,000-mile trip in just over a third of a year? Pretty well. He’s gone through 11 rear and 9 front tires. He suspects he would’ve gone through fewer fronts, but he’s broken three rims, which have taken their toll. At just over 100,000 miles, the bike needed a new stator, and before that he had to replace the fuel pump. Beyond that, the only maintenance he’s done has been proactive.On a pair of days earlier in the year, he had one Indian service shop replace the rear brakes and service the rear half of the motorcycle. The next day, he arrived at a different dealer and had them service the fork, the brakes, and everything else that needed attention at the front of the Pursuit.Trip Highlights And Lowlights Having been on a bike for this many days across this many miles, Cornell has seen literally every corner of the 48 contiguous states – and you can track and view his entire trip here. The corners of the USA are what Cornell called time sucks because of their tourist-trap nature. Nevertheless, he made a point to visit each one at least once.“The beauty of this country is so jaw-dropping. If people just took the time to not have a destination. Just go out and look. I was out in Oregon, and I’ve been there a few times and every time I go, it’s different. The lighting is different, the trees are different, the clouds are different. And every time I go, it’s more beautiful than the time before it.”It hasn’t been all sunshine, rainbows, canyons, and waterfalls, though. On day 73, Cornell broke his collarbone and was off the road for five days. Making up those 5,000 miles to achieve 100,000 miles in 100 days was a serious challenge. Riding twisting and turning roads was tougher, too, because of the injury. Nevertheless, he made it and was able to keep going.What has been his favorite part of the country so far? “SR-20, Scenic Route 20, or the North Cascades Highway in Washington, is one of his top picks. “It was absolutely gorgeous from the mountains, to the trees, to the gulleys, to the lakes. It was a little more challenging for me than I was comfortable with due to my shoulder injury, but the beauty of the road overtook the pain. I don’t think there’s any place just like it.”How did Patrick feel once he saw the odo’s reading? “When I finally hit that 125,000 in 125 days, it was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. I did what I set out to do. My fundraising wasn’t where I wanted it to be, though, so I challenged my followers. For every day that we could get $1,000 in donations, I would ride 1,000 miles the next day.” So far, he’s at 135,000 miles and counting, but as of this writing, the fundraiser has generated just $73,000.How To Help While Patrick has already crushed his initial goal, he’s still on the road and will continue to be each day donations exceed $1,000 per day. Donations remain open at MDF’s fundraising page, and supporters can track his journey on Facebook at Vroom Old Man – Indian 125+ for Myotonic. “It’s not about me,” Patrick says. “It’s about the families who live with this every day. I want the world to know this disease exists—and that we can fight it together.”