Emily and I celebrated BC Day with a lovely bike ride to Steveston. It was our first time biking there and I was really impressed. I never knew Richmond had a good network of greenways, trails, and bike lanes. Obviously other people did, because Steveston was packed with cyclists.

We took the SkyTrain to Aberdeen and then biked along the Middle Arm Trail, past the Olympic Oval and across from the airport, where we had great views of planes taking off from YVR and float planes landing on the river.

We continued down the West Dyke Trail, past marshy tidal flats and a farm with grazing cows.

In Steveston, we wandered around town, checked out the pier, and ate deep-fried oysters, wild salmon, and chips (bad vegans, I know). I was surprised how many tourists in Steveston were there to check out Storybrooke, the fictional town Steveston becomes when Once Upon a Time is filming.

Our return trip was a quick zip down the Railway Greenway, a paved and separated route running the length of Richmond. The greenway follows the old Interurban train line and the former stops are marked with timetables painted on the ground – a clever way to highlight the history of the route.

All-in-all, it was a great, relaxing bike ride and a fun day. The route is completely flat and mostly separated from automobile traffic. Steveston is a perfect destination, with a popular pier, restaurants, and fish market. A perfect day trip.

Our route there was a scenic 11.4 km and took us 1 hour.
The route back was 9.4 km and took us only 38 minutes.

More photos on Flickr.