Dean and Nala, a Scot on a bike with his cat

In September 2018, Scotsman Dean Nicholson left home with the aim of cycling the planet. I recently met him while he was cycling in the snow near Bled, Slovenia.

This article first appeared in the excellent Vélo Mag, May 2022 edition.

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Dean, Nala and I near Bled, Slovenia.

Some three months after his departure, near the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, he distinguishes the mewing of a kitten running behind him. "About twenty kilometers from the nearest village, it was clear that it had been abandoned there", recounts the traveler.

Dean picked up the little animal and put it in his handlebar basket. “She didn't like it,” he continues. She got out, climbed on my arm and then fell asleep with her head in my neck while I pedaled. The Scotsman's heart melted, and he thought they were meant to be together. Because of her fiery and endearing personality, he named her Nala, after the lioness of the Lion King.

Since then, they have been walking together across Eurasia, he in shorts, even on the ice, and her with her head out of her large basket at the front of the bike. “She is more fearful in winter, and it is more difficult to find where to stay with an animal. But we very often get invited,” Dean explains. Even with Nala, he says he has almost no problem crossing borders. The duo was nevertheless arrested when they entered Iran… to take a photo with the customs officers!

The photogenic pair has a few hundred thousand subscribers on YouTube and more than a million on Instagram. Dean uses this notoriety to help other animals. In recent years, he estimates he has donated almost 200 euros ($000) to around 335 animal sanctuaries and charities, including selling more than 000 calendars. To continue to travel, the Scotsman also sells, via his website, stickers, sweaters and reusable bags bearing the image of Nala. It is to believe that they were really made to meet.