Ha ha! Thanks for letting those BMXers know that I'm "available."
I avoided RIA because of the traffic, well because of the busses, really. I had a few routes, including winding through Brookland and crossing RIA at 4th NE and getting to R. Then I crossed N. Cap at R and headed down to the Capitol via New Jersey and 1st NW. From there, it was a nice ride along the Mall to the Jefferson Memorial and down to the Virginia side of the Potomac on the 14th Street bridge and then on to Alexandria on the Mount Vernon Trail. I really enjoyed that commute.
The rail corridor from RIA to NYAve Metro is probably fenced off now since they built that building (electric company, maybe?). That used to be a field that you could cut across and usually the gate was open. I don't know if there is any way to connect to the finished part of the Met Branch at the approach to the NY Ave Metro station or not. They really need to get that finished already.
But all of that is ancient history for me. Have a great time riding in the District! It's the best way to get around.