I'm usually running too late to detour from Rhode Island, but when I can afford to make a small detour, I turn left on 4th NE , then right on V st. This allows me to avoid the climb on RI which is the worst part of sharing the road on RI for me, because I'm so slow going uphill. The climb on V is even steeper, so you don't miss out on the challenge of the climb, just the traffic. V st. comes together with Rhode Island at the top of the hill, so I'm right back on course.
I didn't know that section of Met Branch was open. I thought only the part near Catholic U was, the part that is on a road. I used to cut through from Harry Thomas Way (near New York Ave.) to Rhode Island Ave. on my out-bound commute, a fun off-road tresspass which included carrying over train tracks, but that's fenced off now. That shortcut went where part of the MetBranch will (does?) go. It was kinda nice to ride sandy double track in the city, it had a rural feel to it if you didn't pay mind to the charred skeletal remains of a few torched cars along the way.
I emailed those bmx tourists and told them you wanted to "show them a good time"
in Richmond, but they never replied to my message.
