Cyclist Adopts a Stray Cat and Travels the World with it

After getting tired of his nine-to-five job as a welder, Dean Nicholson decided he would prefer more to spend his time traveling. Back in September 2018, he jumped on a bicycle and embarked on an ambitious journey from his hometown Dunbar to explore Europe. Although he started the trip alone, he ended up picking an unlikely companion along the way.

Following stops in Belgium, Greece, Switzerland,  Italy, and Croatia, Nicholson found himself passing through Bosnia and Herzegovina. There he met Nala, an adorable stray kitten who was dying to befriend him.

“I was going up a steep hill with my music blaring out of my speaker when I heard a desperate meow from behind me.” – Nicholson described the moment when he and Nala met. “I clocked the kitten, I got off my bike to stroke her then that was it, she wouldn’t leave my side. She was a wee, scrappy little thing and so far away from anywhere.”

This is when the 31-year-old decided that it wouldn’t be so bad to have a company during these long journeys, and took her with himself.

Dean and Nala were sharing adventures ever since, traveling through Montenegro, Albania and Greece. This unlikely duo now generates lots of attentions wherever they go and people enjoy listening to their interesting story.

“Everybody loves her when they see her popping out of the carrier on the front of my bike and always ask for pictures of her.” – the 31-year-old added. “Nala loves travelling and is super relaxed and chilled but she doesn’t like going over cobbles – this is when she jumps out the box and sits on my shoulders instead.”

If you want to find out more about this world-traveling duo and see some of the adventures they had, check out pics and videos below.

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So we couldnt get to Santorini today as the ferry got cancelled due to the wind, to me it felt like a slight summer breeze you get back home in Scotland but the captain insisted the ship couldnt leave the port. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ On that note we decided to head back to the house, doing a wee detour around Athens on the way. Having being pre-warned by @iliana21gr & @gazz750cc that the ferry was likely to be cancelled they had a good laugh when i turned back up at the door asking to extend my stay another night! Cant credit how nice and helpful these pair have been with me and of course they let me 💛 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We're all packed and ready to go in the morning so we are just going to spend the rest of the day relaxing watching netflix. Im absolutely hooked on shark tank at the minute and hoping by the time i cycle to America i can get on the show and pitch the idea of a Nala movie to them! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fingers crossed the wind disappears in the next 12 hours so we can set sail and start our new chapter on this beautiful island! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🤞🤞🤞 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #ferry #santorini #cancelled #windy #wind #couchsurfingathens #couchsurfingfriends #couchsurfing #friendsforlife #family #love #sharktank #netflix #adventurebybike #adventure #adventureseeker #travelblogging #beautyofcycling #cycletheworld #cycletouring #worldbybike #meow #sleepycat #travel #travelblogger #solotraveler #happy

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After travelling to Albania to see the puppy the other day, on the journey back the bus got stopped at customs and every part of it was searched…. twice!! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This got me thinking about crossing borders with Nala and how she isnt so easy to hide anymore. So the next few days i looked into everything she needs for making it across the world and turns out its a quite a bit. Every place differs from the next, Some are pretty easy and others just want to make it difficult for some reason. Maybe im just overthinking it all but last thing i want is to have her taken from me at some border point because shes missed a jag and chucked in quarantine for however long at my expense. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Tomorrow though we are getting the titer test done to prove she hasnt got rabies, this involves taking a sample of her blood and sending it to be analysed at a lab in Athens. This can take upto 30 days to receive the results but at least it lets us into some countries! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Feeling a bit deflated with it all but im going to get back on the bike tomorrow and see if cycling clears my head ✌ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ • ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #adventurecat #shouldercat #cat #🐱#travelnomad #traveltheworld #worldbybike #worldtraveller #biketheworld #cyclinglife #adventurebybike #adventure #adventureseeker #travelblogging #beautyofcycling #cycletheworld #greece🇬🇷 #travel

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