About Me

My name is Max Thurston, and I’m from Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, the land of fiery sunsets and endless desert horizons. Four and a half years ago, I moved to Finland, a land of countless lakes, dark winter nights, and glowing saunas, and perhaps the polar opposite of New Mexico, to pursue my Master’s degree in sport science. I followed up my Master’s with a subsequent PhD, where I’ve researched the impacts of assistive exoskeleton technologies for children with Cerebral Palsy. During my time studying in Finland, I’ve had the privilege and amazing opportunity to explore and travel within Europe, which sparked my love for bikepacking. I’ve biked up and over the alps to Venice, across the Adriatic coastline to Slovenia, and along the German-Czechia border from Dresden to Passau; riding through amazing mountain landscapes and wild green forests, enjoying delicious food and learning more about the cultures and histories of the areas, and feeling good about living with everything I need strapped to my bike. These journeys showed me the joys and challenges of traveling by bike. I grew to love the freedom to explore and take each day at my own pace, the spontaneous experiences and friendly meetings with new people, and the vulnerability and immersion into life that comes with bike travel.

In my time in Finland I’ve also had the great privilege to be part of innovative research investigating the potential of wearable exoskeletons to enhance walking ability in children with physical disability from Cerebral Palsy (CP), with the long-term aim of facilitating greater participation in the community, and empowering the personal agency of kids with CP to live their lives without limitations. Through my research, I’ve been inspired by the strength, resilience, and positive outlook of so many of those with CP that I’ve worked with, yet I’ve also witnessed the structural and social barriers that can stigmatize and restrict the lives and independence for so many living with disabilities. My path thus far has fostered in me a desire to do my part to work towards a world where people with disabilities are seen and valued as equal human beings and have equal opportunities to live full lives guided by their own unique dreams, goals, and ambitions.

The values that have guided me on my current life trajectory include a deep passion for science, curiosity, and adventure, as well as a belief in the right of all people, regardless of cultural background, circumstances of one’s birth, or level of ability, to live full, happy, and self-determined lives. I want to take these guiding values into this next adventurous project to ride my bicycle from Helsinki, Finland to Cape Town, South Africa. My personal motivations for my trip are maybe similar to many young adventurous souls: to learn more about the world and myself by setting out on an ambitious journey, and see how the trip changes me and how much I’ll grow. But, I also want to make my journey meaningful beyond myself, which is why I hope to partner with organizations doing amazing work to improve the lives of people with disabilities in the regions I will be traveling. I can’t wait for this new adventure and I’m excited to share my personal experiences, insights, and lessons from along the way here on this page.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey!