In September 2018, a man Dean Nicholson embarked on an epic journey. His plan was to bike across the entire world by himself, starting from his hometown of Dunbar, Scotland.
For the first three months, everything went to plan.
Nicholson biked down to Newcastle, where he got a ferry to Amsterdam. Then, he continued biking through Europe, stopping in Belgium, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Bosnia.
In December 2018, Nicholson crossed the border from Bosnia into Montenegro. And that’s when everything changed.
Soon after Nicholson arrived in Montenegro, he had to bike up a steep hill. He blared music from his speakers to pump himself up. As he was cycling up the hill, he heard a desperate meow, so loud he could hear it over his music. Nicholson immediately hopped off his bike and went over to the side of the road. He looked down and saw a little stray kitten staring up at him.
“She was a wee, scrappy little thing and so far away from anywhere,” Nicholson told StoryTrender. “I wasn’t going to take her with me at first, but I soon fell in love with her and I couldn’t bring myself to leave her there alone.”
Nicholson decided to name the little kitten Nala. He removed some items from the basket on the front of his bike, making space for her. Nicholson put Nala in the basket, and she quickly curled up and went to sleep. Nicholson’s heart melted, and he knew that he was going to officially adopt her.
Nicholson brought Nala over to a local vet, who gave her a rabies shot and vaccination. Then, Nicholson went and got Nala a pet passport. After that, the two hit the road together.
Nala quickly proved that she was a great travel companion. She was a very relaxed cat, and she was happy to spend her days napping in the basket on the front of Nicholson’s bike. Sometimes, she would also hop up onto Nicholson’s shoulder! The biker was so happy that he stumbled across this little kitten.
Nicholson and Nala have now traveled through Albania and Greece together. While he was in Albania, Nicholson rescued another stray animal: a puppy named Balou. Nicholson wasn’t able to take the puppy with him, but he brought him to a vet who looked after the little animal. The puppy has now been adopted by a family in London.
Everyone is always amazed when they see Nicholson and Nala riding by. Many people stop to take photos of the two of them.
“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,” Nicholson said. “It’s pretty crazy; I’ve had people pull over in their cars and get out to come see her as well.”
When Nicholson started his around-the-world journey, he could have never guessed that a cat would join him on his journey! If you want to see more photos of adorable Nala, check out Nicholson’s Facebook page.
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