Richmond is built on mud, and proud of it. The city occupies Lulu Island and neighbouring islands in the delta of the Fraser River, just south of Vancouver, land so flat and so low that much of it sits barely above sea level behind a ring of dykes. Vancouver's airport takes up Sea Island to the west, the North Shore mountains rise beyond the city skyline, and on a clear day Mount Baker floats above the delta to the southeast, a white volcano across the border in Washington.
Two Richmonds coexist. The centre is one of the most Asian cities in North America, with huge malls, Chinese restaurants, bubble tea shops and a summer night market that draws crowds from all over the region, and the food is a very good reason to stop. At the southwest corner of the island lies Steveston, an old fishing village with wooden docks, boats selling fish straight from the deck and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, a national historic site that tells the story of the salmon canning industry and the Japanese Canadian fishermen who worked here before their internment during the Second World War.
The riding around Richmond is flat and urban, with traffic lights, busy roads and few curves, though the dyke roads by the river and the sea offer open views and the scent of salt and mud. Wind can blow strongly across the delta. The Mount Baker loop heads south across the border into Washington State. You will need a passport and the right documents for the bike, and waits at the crossings can be long at weekends. Once across, the Mount Baker Highway climbs east from Bellingham through forests along the Nooksack River toward the mountain, ending at Artist Point, usually open only in late summer when the snow has melted.
The weather is typical of the coast: mild, grey and wet from autumn to spring, and often bright and pleasant in summer. Fog sometimes hangs over the delta in the morning. In the mountains, snow can remain on the high roads until July.
Richmond has fuel, food and every service, and many locals cross the border to fill up in Washington, where fuel has often been cheaper. Keep receipts and know the duty-free limits if you bring anything back. Before or after the ride, a bowl of noodles in one of the city's many Asian restaurants is hard to beat.