I’ve been waiting for today’s bike ride since I picked it up on Monday. The weather warmed up above 60, the sky was blue and my new bike was ready to ride. I rolled out at 11:23 AM on my new Cervelo Caledonia Rival AXS eTap bike. This was my first ride on it. Because I’m not familiar with electronic shifting I decided to ride Kingwood streets. Also my eyesight is still adjusting from cataract surgery. I needed to get creative on eyewear since my prescription sunglasses weren’t usable. My solution was to use the sunglasses that fit over my regular glasses. The optical store removed the right lens from my glasses because my sight changed so much. I didn’t know if the sunglasses that slide over my regular glasses would stay put but the snap on held them snugly.

As I was getting ready to walk the Cervelo outside I spun the front wheel to activate the speed sensor and nothing happened. I checked the battery and it was dead. A new battery fixed that problem.

With the first ride I didn’t know if I setup everything properly. The only problem that came up was the placement of my cadence sensor on the left crank arm. The strap on my left shoe hit the sensor when I didn’t keep my heel out. After the ride I moved the sensor closer to the pedal so that problem should be fixed. Everything else seems to be good. A longer ride may bring up something.

Learning the SRAM AXS eTap shifting doesn’t appear to be hard but it does require a light touch. If I push the lever too long it shifts more than one gear. The shape of the brake levers is very different from the Shimano Ultegra 8000 levers I have been using on my other bikes. But that will become the norm as I use them. A nice feature is pairing the rear derailleur with the Wahoo Bolt computer. Now on the screen it shows which gear both front and rear it is on. At first I didn’t see the front derailleur but it is the upper right corner.

Ride comfort on the Cervelo feels very much like the Canyon Endurace. The handle bar shape is round and not aero like the Canyon. I liked the aero shape because there was more area to put my hands. This is the first black bike I’ve owned since the Cannondale Black Lightning. I think was back in the 1990’s. The taillight mounting position is lower on the Cervelo getting it below the seat bag for better sight by approaching traffic. The weather is supposed to be a couple of degrees warmer with sun. I plan a longer ride then.

I sold my Canyon Endurace today after listing it on Craigslist Monday evening. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested. Several inquires and one buyer. The buyer was excited with his new bike.