Kandıra is a quiet country town in Kocaeli province, east of Istanbul, and it sits in the middle of one of the wildest stretches of coast on the Marmara and Black Sea shores. A little over thirteen thousand people live here, farming, fishing and working in the forests, and the place has the unhurried feel of somewhere that the main roads bypassed. The centre has a few streets of shops and cafes, a mosque and a small market, and on market days the farmers bring in their produce.
The surrounding countryside is forest, and a great deal of it. Oak, hornbeam and beech cover the hills between Kandıra and the sea, in woods that are damp, dense and full of birdsong, with streams and clearings. The coast itself, a few kilometres north, is a succession of long, empty beaches, small coves and cliffs, backed by dunes and woodland, and for much of it there are no buildings at all, which is rare so close to a city of fifteen million. The Black Sea is often rough here, and the beaches shelve steeply, so be careful if you swim.
The riding is pleasant, with roads that rise and fall through forest and farmland, linking Kandıra with the coast and with the neighbouring towns of Kaynarca and Kefken. The surface is generally good on the main roads and more patchy on the minor ones, and the bends are gentle and often shaded. Traffic is light, apart from on summer weekends, and the most common hazards are tractors, cattle and, in autumn, mud and leaves. Because the roads are quiet, you will probably see more wildlife than other vehicles, with deer and wild boar that sometimes cross at dusk.
Kandıra is a good place to stop for a meal and fuel, and it has stations, bakeries and simple restaurants that serve grilled meat, soup and fresh bread. It is the sort of place where a cup of tea at a roadside cafe comes with a conversation. Beyond it, the options on the coast are limited, so fill up and eat before you head north. Late spring, when the forest is bright green and the wildflowers are out, and the early autumn, when the heat has gone, are the pick of the year.