The road to 2,000 miles on a Citi Bike has been bumpy — and it has nothing to do with the countless potholes I’ve hit along the way.
I reached the milestone some time in the past two weeks, and it is highly likely that the moment I pedaled over the threshold, the bike skipped gears.
Because they always skip gears.
My feelings about the bike-share program have been mixed since I became a member in late 2013, when I moved to a neighborhood downtown that was covered by the system.
The plan was to swear off the subway except on rare occasions and cycle through all four seasons, and that is exactly what I have done.
I have ridden through everything from polar vortexes — with cabbies yelling, “You shouldn’t be out here!” and me yelling the same back — to heat waves.
The bikes are durable: Their heft and thick tires make slick surfaces passable, they have an excellent turning radius, the brakes are strong, and the seats are very comfortable.
But they need to be in the highest gear, third, to safely power through the city’s treacherous intersections and around the countless obstacles. Yet that is when they most often fail.
The handlebars are always crusty, the tires lack proper treads, and finding a dock that works — or an available bike in Midtown after 5 p.m. — sometimes feels like hitting the lottery jackpot.
I have seen what Citi Bike can be. Bike-share programs in Chicago and Miami were well-oiled machines.
I know New York City is a tough town. The bikes get beat to hell all winter, and people are riding them 24/7.
But with thousands of more bikes on the way, maintenance has to improve and docks in high-traffic areas need to be replenished or membership will fall.
I am not ready to turn in my Citi Bike key for an unlimited MetroCard just yet — don’t even ask me what I think about the subways — but I do hope the next 2,000 miles are a little less jarring.
Eric Lenkowitz is The Post’s associate metro editor