Over the last two summers, Niverville teenager B’Elanna Piasta’s Frozen Yummies trailer has become a regular sight around town. No doubt many have wondered how this young woman got her start selling ice cream from the back of a DIY bike trailer.

When the 16-year-old began last year, she was raising money for an upcoming school trip to Europe, a voyage that’s organized for students in Grades 10 through 12 at the high school. The group will be seeing the sights in Amsterdam, Brussels, France, and London in 2020.

Piasta says she goes out selling treats an average of four times per week, and her products vary throughout the season. For the time being, she’s selling Revellos, Fudgsicles, and popsicles.

Despite some early setbacks, Piasta has stuck with it and put in a lot of hard work.

“I go out whenever I can, as long as it’s not too hot or raining,” she says. “[Last summer] I fell into a ditch twice and broke my bike.”

After that, she continued taking orders through Facebook until she could redesign the trailer with her father, Barry, to make it easier for her to control on the road.

“It was hard biking at first because [the trailer] had two wheels on the bottom,” says Piasta. “Since then we’ve rebuilt the trailer to make it smaller and [now] it rests in between the back wheels.”

Her parents have been great encouragers of the project, helping her keep up her stock, aiding in the construction of the trailer, and reminding her when she hasn’t been out selling for a couple of days.

Piasta recently added some new features to the custom bike. As of July, the trailer is equipped with a Bluetooth speaker which plays ice cream truck music in order to get her customers’ attention and give them the full experience.

“It’s kind of like in the movies. I had a few kids on Foxdale that would get excited and follow me for a bit… my most memorable moment from [selling ice cream] was when I sold ice cream after a soccer game and all the little kids flocked over to my bike, joy lighting up in their eyes.”

All the hard work will soon pay off, and she’s excited for her 2020 European trip

“We’ve been planning for a year already and going over some of the things we’ll see in each place,” she says. “I’ve almost reached my monetary goal… but I’ll still be out until September.”

If you see B’Elanna Piasta biking down your street, consider purchasing a goodie to support this hard-working entrepreneur.