Vlad, founder of Vancouver-based Coffee Bike World, had a plan: drive a mobile espresso bar across North America, serving coffee in communities and filming it all for his YouTube series, THE CROSSING. Then US border officers stopped him. Between the business asset (the bike), a trailer full of coffee and the YouTube filming, they saw too much commercial activity. After hours of questions and inspections, he and his team were sent back into Canada.
Rather than scrap the trip, he rerouted it. The revised plan took him through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, reaching Halifax before heading back west to Vancouver. Along the way he parked the bike at a Fredericton farmers' market, a Moncton car show and stops in Edmonton, where he caught up with the team behind DON'YA Ukraine's Kitchen from his Dragons' Den days. One mission failed: security at Drake's Toronto house declined his coffee delivery, so the rapper's order remains a mystery.
A quick reality check for anyone picturing a Tour de France effort: Vlad didn't pedal across the country. A Hummer EV towed an enclosed trailer between stops, and the electric Coffee Bike — a working espresso bar with fridge, sinks and water tanks — was unloaded to ride around locally. The electric motor handles the weight of the equipment, and the compact setup fits into markets and event spaces where a coffee van wouldn't, while keeping the barista face-to-face with customers.
The trip wasn't all lakeside pours. Towing drained the Hummer's range fast enough that finding chargers became a daily obsession, hotel prices sometimes meant sleeping in the vehicle, and wildfire closures around Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops made the BC leg uncertain. Vlad also started the whole thing recovering from a fractured shoulder blade. Some locations asked him to leave; a beautiful spot doesn't guarantee you can trade there.
Still, his takeaway is a useful one for any traveller whose plans collapse: the detour became the story. Fredericton, Moncton and Halifax only made the itinerary because the original route vanished at the border. He finished in Vancouver glad he kept going east, with a million-plus cups already served by his company since 2017 and a fresh appreciation for improvising on the road.
For holidaymakers, it's a reminder that Canada's Atlantic provinces — often skipped in favour of the Rockies or Toronto — reward a slow, stop-heavy approach: farmers' markets, car shows, coastal drives and people happy to talk while you watch your drink being made.
