Photo by James Servino.

The New York Times called it a “new phenomenon.” Greater Greater Washington trumpeted that it “will change everything.” Mayor Fenty talked about his big head. All part of the hype surrounding today’s grand opening of Capital Bikeshare, which replaces SmartBikeDC and promises more than 100 bike sharing stations in the District and Arlington featuring over 1,100 sharable bikes for area cyclists.

“By the end of October, residents, visitors, employees and commuters will be able to pick up a bike in over 100 locations throughout D.C. and Arlington and use it to go all over the area.  It is not only bikesharing, it is a new bike transportation network,” said DDOT director Gabe Klein, who touted the new systems ability to connect cyclists with Metro and Circulator routes around the city.

Currently, a little under half of the system’s planned stations are open, with more coming online in October. A map of available stations, along with real time data on how many bikes are available at any given time is located here. DDOT is offering a deal on annual memberships, which are usually $75, but will be $50 for a short period of time. (So, if you’re thinking about joining, now’s the time to do it.) As part of the opening day festivities, tonight’s Nationals game will feature a Presidents Race contested on the bicycles. Here’s hoping Teddy has a good helmet, because we envision him having some difficulty.

The new bikes, painted a vibrant shade of red, were out in force this morning, as dozens of riders ran them through their paces. So, any readers get a chance to test out the bikes yet? Leave your impressions in the comments.