On 3rd and 4th October we headed to Royal Deeside for the Ballater Audax weekend, with Carradice ambassador Iza Murtagh, for the first proper outing for our new Black Label collection.
For those not familiar with audax, it's long-distance riding with a route to follow, controls to visit and a brevet card to get stamped along the way. It's non-competitive. Nobody was racing - though one or two of us still descended as if we were!
And though Audax asks you to follow a route, manage your time and carry what you need, there’s still room for personal challenge, exploration and good company - without a stopwatch in sight. And I think that dovetails with Carradice nicely.
Run by volunteers under Audax UK, the Ballater weekend takes the traditional on-road format and switches it up with some Highland gravel. With the woodland colour just beginning to turn, wide estate tracks through heather, and amazing views around every turn, this set to be a great place to launch a new range.
Black Label, packed and ready on the green in Ballater. Image: Edward Kingston
Highland Pony & Faithful Servant
The weekend offered road and gravel routes at 50km and 100km. On the gravel side, the
Highland Pony and the Faithful (what fantastic names!) took riders out of Ballater and into a landscape of estate tracks, big skies and places tied up with Deeside's history.
Briefing time. Brevet cards out, gloves on. Image: Edward Kingston
Once out of town, the road climbed above the Dee, and the valley opened up. The river wound through the glen below, the hills were turning rust and purple with the heather, and every bend seemed to offer a better view than the last.
Crossing the Dee. Image: Izabela Murtagh
Through the trees. Image: Izabela Murtagh
Then came the gravel proper: wide, loose estate tracks running up the glens between the pines. The kind of section that demands you pay attention, especially on a loaded bike.
Smiles per mile on the estate tracks. Image: Izabela Murtagh
A stop at the Red House, control. Image: Edward Kingston
The big views were brilliant, but it was the smaller moments that made the weekend. Comparing set-ups outside the cafe. Pausing by the water. Sharing the tracks with people who'd simply come to enjoy a day on their bikes.
Being at events like Ballater keeps us close to that community. We get to see how riders actually pack, hear what works and what doesn't, and take that back to Nelson for the next design.
Riding with Iza
Audax is Iza's favourite way to ride. Her Carradice bags go with her on the daily commute and on long-distance events alike, from Paris–Brest–Paris to this year's 2,000km Súper Brevet Al-Andalus.
That kind of mileage brings a very practical eye. How a bag packs, how easily you can get into it on the move, how it sits on the bike after hours on rough ground. Those are the details that matter long after the photos are taken, and having Iza with us connects the bags directly to the riding they're made for.
Day 1. 100km. 1080m elevation. View on Strava
Day 2. 55km. 560m elevation. View on Strava
A Carradice Classic, Recut in Black
Ballater was a soft launch for Black Label, our new special-edition collection. The idea is simple. Take Carradice Heritage designs you'll recognise, and give them a fresh look in black cotton duck, black leather, black fittings and tonal detailing.
The shapes of the bag stay the same, but the appearance is more muted and more contemporary. Weatherproof dry-waxed cotton duck and leather trim bring texture to the fore, and every bag is still handmade here in the UK.
Everything we carried over the weekend went in Black Label bags. A Black Label saddlebag name behind the saddle, on a Bagman support. A Black Label bar bag name up front. And a top tube bag for snacks and phone. Keep an eye on our Heritage range for the full Black Label launch.
Black Label up close. Waxed cotton duck, black leather, and a bit of Deeside on the mudguard. Image: Edward Kingston
But a bag only earns its place on the bike by being useful, no? That's why we took them to Ballater and not a studio. Spare layers, food and tools still need a home. A day of Highland gravel tells us far more than any product shot ever could.
Thank you to the organisers and volunteers who made the weekend happen, to everyone we shared the gravel with, and to Iza for joining us. Black Label may be new, but it's still most definitely Carradice.
