Reader's Rides: Kent

Gary Burns, 39, is a field service technician from Ashford. He rides a 'mint' '98 R1. Here's his favourite Sunday run with the lads.

"This is a route me and a few mates do on a Sunday. As a couple of them come from Maidstone we meet at the junction of the A28 and A274 at London Beach just east of Tenterden in Kent. Both of those are good A roads that are not bad in their own right. My Maidstone mates think their road is the best, but the A28 is okay. It wakes me up in the morning.

From there we head into Tenterden (posh gaffs) on the A28 and take the last left turning at the west end of town, the B2082. This is a lively little road that ducks and dives a fair bit between the hedges. Keeps you right on the balls of your feet. Fortunately not much traffic, but you do have to think 'horses'. The road thrashes all the way down to Rye.

In Rye you'll find a lot of bikers parked in the quayside car park - there's a few pubs and cafes dotted around so it's a good stop. And my missus likes it here too, it's got a castle and stuff if that's your thing.
From here we take the A259 to Hastings. Good road again, fast. If you want a slow detour take the coast road down to Winchelsea Beach and along. It's a slow narrow road, but if you're taking the missus for a tour then she'll love this bit - it's a bit of old world and birds love that, don't they? It comes back to the A259 shortly before Hastings too, so there's no annoying back-tracking.

In Hastings we go down to the old fishing huts. There are plenty of fish and chip cafes there, plus the odd pub, and you can sit on the pebbled beach among the parked trawlers.

From there we head north on the main drag through town and pick up the A28 at the roundabout where most of the cars plod north on the A21. The A28 is another good hack and takes us all the way back to Tenterden.

For those that aren't local this is a good look at the East Sussex and Kent countryside and a mint ride. For us it's just a good blast.