Mysuru, still called Mysore in many mouths, is the former capital of the Wodeyar kings and one of the easiest big cities in India to like. With about nine hundred thousand people it is large, but it moves at a gentler pace than Bengaluru, and the centre is built around the Mysore Palace, a huge Indo-Saracenic building that is lit by about a hundred thousand bulbs on Sundays and during the Dasara festival. The wide avenues, old markets and sandalwood stalls give the city its character. Sandalwood soap and silk are local products, and Mysore pak, a sweet made of gram flour, ghee and sugar, was invented in the palace kitchens.
As a start for a ride toward the Nilgiris, it works very well. Fuel is everywhere, hotels are plentiful, and the road southwest is wide and mostly smooth. Leave early, because Karnataka traffic builds quickly, with trucks, buses, auto-rickshaws and the occasional cow. The first stretch passes through flat farmland of sugarcane and banana, then enters forest as you approach Bandipur and Mudumalai, where the road becomes part of tiger and elephant country.
That wildlife corridor changes the riding. Bandipur National Park has night restrictions on traffic on the main road, so you must reach and cross it in daylight, and speed limits are strict, with checkpoints at the forest boundaries. Elephants cross the road without hurry and they are not to be tested. Slow down for monkeys and deer, and never feed them. The road is a fine ride in the early morning, when mist hangs over the trees and birds are loud.
Before leaving Mysuru, give yourself an hour for breakfast: masala dosa, idli with sambar, and filter coffee in a steel tumbler are typical, and the older cafes near the market are worth finding. The best months to ride are October to February, when the air is cool and dry; the monsoon from June to September brings heavy rain and slippery roads. From here, the road begins to climb toward Ooty and the blue hills.