Around theworld in 80 strays
Meet the Scottish cyclist who embarked on an epic one-man adventure... and found his lifetime companion along the way
HE almost didn’t hear her cries above the heavy rock tunes blaring from the speaker on his handlebars. The loud thud-thud of the music was helping a grim-faced Dean Nicholson to inch his heavily laden bicycle up a mountain pass in Bosnia. But, in the briefest pause between the beats, those plaintive meows suddenly cut through to his very soul. Turning to look over his shoulder, he was astonished to see the scrawniest little kitten chasing after him up the steep slope.
Something in the tiny animal’s determined demeanour persuaded the burly former welder to make an unscheduled stop and allow the kitten to catch up. If nothing else, he reasoned as he videoed the encounter, it might be nice to have a bit of company for a few minutes before moving on.
After all, Mr Nicholson had always planned his round-theworld cycle adventure as a solo gig; an opportunity to rebalance a life that seemed to be veering off track, to reflect and find renewed purpose. A travelling companion was never on the cards. The cat had other ideas. ‘I had my sound system on and, in the break of a song, I heard loud meowing coming from behind me and here was this scruffy-looking kitten chasing me up the hill,’ he later recalled.
‘She was quite skinny-looking,’ he said of the half- starved creature. ‘I sat down with her, gave her some pesto for lunch. I would say the bond was instant because she just would not leave my side as soon as I pulled over.
‘This all happened about ten miles from any town so I felt she had been abandoned. My first thought was I wasn’t going to take her, but she kept following me, so in the end I had to take her.
‘When I put her on the bike and started cycling she jumped out of the front pouch and up onto my shoulder. She then nuzzled into my neck and then I thought it was meant to be.
‘I got her into Montenegro and straight to a vet to see if she was microchipped and she wasn’t, so I decided to keep her and take her with me.’
Since their chance roadside meeting in December 2018, the pair have been inseparable and Mr Nicholson’s regular video updates of their progress have proved a viral sensation on social media.
He named the seven-week- old grey tabby Nala, after the lioness in his favourite Disney film, The Lion King, and footage of their first encounter has now racked up more than 26million views on YouTube alone. Nala’s fondness for perching parrot- l i ke on the piratically bearded Mr Nicholson’s heavily t attooed s houlder has only endeared her further to his 766,000strong following on Instagram.
Their tale of unshakeable friendship – which recently involved them chasing off an armed robber – is now the subject of a book, out now and entitled Nala’s World.
Mr Nicholson, 32, said: ‘ I’ve become quite attached to Nala – it’s hard not to when you spend 24/7 with each other, and she also has the best personality, so it’s hard not to fall in love with her.
‘I don’t know how I managed to cycle on my own beforehand for so long. She’s like the perfect sidekick.’
While Mr Nicholson may well have saved her life that day, the impact on the life of her new best friend has been no less profound.
When he quit his job and left his native Dunbar, on the East Lothian coast, two years ago, Mr Nicholson had been ‘a bit of a party animal’ with few prospects beyond the pull of the open road. Working as a welder had l eft him f eeling depressed and disillusioned.
‘Before I started on this epic bike journey I’d been in danger of going down the wrong path in life. I couldn’t do the 9- to- 5 thing,’ he said in an interview. ‘I wanted to see the world and see what state it’s in.’
But, he added: ‘ Since I hooked up with Nala, she has given me a purpose to life and reason to grow up. This wee cat has completely changed my life.’
His journey began in late summer 2018 with a 200-mile trip to catch the ferry to Amsterdam from Newcastle. From there, he travelled through the Netherlands, Belgium,
‘It’s hard not to fall in love with her’ ‘In danger of going down the wrong path’
France and Switzerland down to Italy and the Adriatic coast, where he caught a second ferry to Croatia before making his way into Bosnia and a fateful date with a feline.
‘Before I found Nala, I was just darting from city to city, getting through Europe as quickly as possible so I could get down to south-east Asia,’ he said.
‘She taught me to take things slower, enjoy the experience and what was around me. I have always helped strays but she has taught me to be even more giving and compassionate.’
The vet microchipped her and arranged for the vaccinations she needed for a pet passport to allow her to cross borders with her new owner.
When she developed cat flu, Mr Nicholson nursed her through it, and created a proper cat compartment attached to the handlebars with a safety harness and a small window allowing Nala to peer out, although she still prefers riding shotgun on his neck.
A crowdfunding appeal to pay for her vet’s bills (‘I didn’t realise vet bills were so expensive!’ he said) smashed its initial £1,000 target and he decided to close it down when it topped £32,000.
Mr Nicholson decided to use Nala’s new-found fame to raise thousands of pounds for several charities, including the Street Cats of Oman, the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust and the Marmaris Cat Shelter in Turkey. In 2019 alone, they raised more than £100,000.
In many of the countries he visits he also rescues strays, taking them to vets or inviting families to adopt them on social media. He has paid the vet bills for a stray puppy he came across in Albania and the dog, whom he named Balou, has since been found a new home with a family in London.
But mostly it is Nala who takes centre stage. Numerous videos and photographs posted on Mr Nicholson’s Instagram page, 1bike1world, show them hot-air ballooning in Turkey, sea-kayaking in Greece, where Mr Nicholson landed his dream summer job as a kayak guide, and paddle-boarding.
He 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.
‘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.
‘It’s pretty crazy; I’ve had people pull over in their cars and get out to come see her as well.’
The pair live frugally, camping and staying in hostels or ‘couchsurfing’ in homes of fans who have got in touch online. Nala would nuzzle into his armpit to keep warm as temperatures fell to -10C during one night under canvas in a snowy Bulgarian forest.
Mr Nicholson said: ‘I set up camp in random, quiet spots I can find, including some castle ruins. I save money by camping but get the odd hostel when I feel I’m in need of a shower.
‘ People sometimes give me money or a drink but that might be because I look a bit homeless.
‘I’ve also met a lot of amazing people through couch- surfing where they can put you up for a night or two.
‘A lot of people stop me and give me food as well: I get a lot of fruits, bread and a few times I’ve gone into a restaurant and people have bought me a meal.’
He added: ‘It’s incredible the
support I’ve had from everyone, veryone, including people online I’ve ve never met, and I’m truly grateful l for it.’
Most recently, the pair have been exploring Austria, Mr Nicholson’s 20th country and Nala’s 12th, although their progress was slowed by the coronavirus pandemic.
As restrictions on travel and social distancing are eased, they have been enjoying the hospitality of strangers charmed by this scrap of a cat.
Not everyone has been so welcoming, however. As they camped overnight by Lake Balaton, in Hungary, Mr Nicholson was woken at 5am by ‘Nala climbing on top of me as if she was spooked.
‘Straight away, I heard something rustling outside the tent.’
He emerged to find a man rifling through his bike bag.
‘He had a knife pointing at me. Adrenaline took over.’
Mr Nicholson threw a punch at the burglar and ran back to the tent to get his own knife, before punching him again. ‘My bike lights and pump fell out of the man’s bag. It was a crazy 15 minutes. I chased him a wee bit, like an angry Scotsman,’ he said.
‘I always sleep with a knife by my side. Be warned.’
But on reflection, Mr Nicholson slightly regrets his reaction, wondering whether the burglar had acted out of desperation. ‘It would’ve would been nice ni to sit down and talk to him instead of it k kicking off,’ he said. Such adventures all feature in Nala’s World, World coauthored by writer Garry G Jenkins, who worked on the bestseller A Street Cat Named Bob about a homeless man caring for a stray on the streets of London. Their first Christmas was spent on a beach at Himara, southern Albania, where he taught Nala how to hunt and filmed the results. He took her out for a kayak ride wearing her own buoyancy aid. But when they were caught out by a really bad storm shortly afterwards, Nala was left with a bad chest infection. It was an anxious time as the pair holed up in a hostel for weeks while she was treated with antibiotics and Mr Nicholson distracted himself by doing chores and clearing nearby beaches of plastic and other waste. After that, his priorities completely changed as Nala’s wellbeing came first. ‘Before, I was really wanting to just get across the world. But now I’m not really bothered by how long it takes,’ he said in a blogpost. ‘Just a nice gentle pace and watch her enjoy it.’ Last spring, they reached Thessaloniki, in northern Greece, where Mr Nicholson ensured Nala’s imprint was indelibly marked on him, by having her pawprint tattooed on his right forearm. He said: ‘I vowed to Nala when I f ound her that I wouldn’t leave her. And here we are, in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, away
‘Definitely coming home with me’
from home and without a clue what’s going on. ‘Now that the borders are starting to open up after Covid, we will explore more of Europe.
‘After that I am undecided whether to travel to the US or stick to the original plan of getting to Asia and Australia.
‘But every decision about where we travel centres on ensuring that Nala is happy and healthy, that’s all that matters.’
Indeed, all he knows for certain is that when he finally heads back home to Scotland, Nala will be right there by his side. Or more likely hanging off his shoulder.
‘Nala is definitely coming home with me to Dunbar at the end. If you’ve got a pet, you know what it’s like,’ he explained.
‘You’re never alone. It’s true companionship.’
So, what started out as a boy’s own adventure has morphed into a buddy movie. ‘It’s no longer my trip,’ he admits in one of his video clips. ‘It’s her trip. I’m just along for the ride.’
It seems Nala the fearless feline has not just helped a lost soul find his way in the world, she has become his world.