Riding to Mysuru
Stories from the saddle, Chapter 2, to Mysore.
After a 3 day planned trip that we had taken to Udaipur in November 2025, I needed enough rest. Managing between packing, the hectic wedding and office responsibilities that came my way.
It had left my brain wanting more time to breath, withdraw, isolate and replenish. And for the same reason I wasn’t so inclined to do another roadtrip. Even though deep in my heart I desired for it.
Christmas week will soon be here. Initially I started with the idea of riding to Kodaikanal. Soon enough I would drop this plan because the winter in Bengaluru was already cold.
Besides, I felt that with Kodai I needed more time to spend. Then my attention shifted to Yercaud and then to Udupi, only to drop both of these destinations because I couldn’t find satisfying accommodation choices.
A few days before Christmas day(Thursday), Mysuru caught my attention. Mysuru was near, just a little more than 150 kms and the roads were good, so would be the weather.
Christmas eve finally came. I was busy with work calls the day before. And so I was half minded to book rooms or pack. We decided that we’d not plan or pack because the week was pretty stressful as it is. And so we watched and fell asleep to Knives Out.
I woke up in the morning around 8 am and we continued watching Knives Out. As I watched it I realised that If I were to spend the entire long weekend at home, I would wake up on monday with regret. The weather was pleasant, not too warm nor too cold. The day was perfect to spend outside.
And so I decided; let’s finish watching the movie and then pack in as relaxed a manner as possible and ride to Mysuru!
It was just 165km away. And the road was amazing. It would just take us, what, a little over 3 hours? So once the movie was wrapped, we lazily got down to packing.
I pulled down the saddlebags from the shelf, and got on to filling the riding waterbladder with electrolyte water. My partner picked 2 pairs of clothes for ourselves and got it packed in the saddle bags. She also ordered a few sugarfree protein bars.
Amidst all this I was able to make a quick Oyo booking for an affordable 2 bedroom stay that I could find. Most OYOs have been booked for Christmas. It was unlike anything I had ever done before.
Most of my journeys and all of my travelling involved planned packing or at least planning, from weeks ago. Let me be honest, the biggest thing that kept me away from travelling in the last few years was my inner anxiety.
That weird feeling you have when your mind breaks down big decisions into smaller decisions, while engaging with the big decisions at the same time. But with this trip’s packing routine I felt that I had moved away from it. There were moments where I wanted to urge myself and my partner to pack faster but I believe I kept a reasonable restraint on that urge.
Within an hour we were ready to go. We loaded the bike up, locked the house and the journey started. Thankfully we managed to charge up the bluetooth intercom sets. Petrol and air we decided to fill it on the way.
There were two petrol pumps around the corner, Indian Oil and Shell. We drove to the Indian Oil petrol pump for a full tank of XP90 petrol. The pump staff were dressed in festive clothes. It was Christmas day, they probably were celebrating it during lunch hours.
A small inconvenience struck us before we could get way further into the journey. The bike’s key was bent. And I noticed it when I was opening the fuel tank. I was able to close the fuel tank but I had trouble starting the vehicle because the key wouldn’t turn. I risked using a little more pressure and got the vehicle running.
Because the petrol pump was just meters away from our home we returned home, picked up the spare key and restarted our journey. I thanked my good graces; What if this had happened after we had gotten out of bengaluru? Even worse; what if the key broke in two and got lodged in the ignition lock?
Thankfully these what if scenarios didn’t bother me any further.
On the Road to Mysuru
The road that lay ahead went like this: From 27th cross road to Mangammapalaya road to the Bengaluru Chennai Highway (aka Electronics City Highway), and from there to NICE road, and to Kanakapura and then to Malavalli and then to Mysuru.
By now this road was familiar. We had taken this route too.
Although the road was familiar, a few things were different. We had started later than how we usually start. It was 1pm already. The sun was up and so it was warm.
The journey was relaxing, but at the same time it was sunny. The magnetic sunglass frame that came with my new glasses was a life saver, until it flew away: experimentally I had purchased a lenscart wireframe spectacle with a magnetic sunglass layer attachment.
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But in the wind that was blowing onto my face it flew away. At the moment it happened, I didn’t want to risk breaking the bike in an unsafe manner and so we kept riding.
When we are riding, my eyes keep cycling between looking far ahead, looking 10 m ahead, a quick glance at the speed, average mileage, and time that we spent riding. Once I saw that we’ve been riding for around 100km we decided to take a break. Mysuru was just 165km away and we had crossed the halfway point.
We stopped in the shade. The time was around 330pm. After having two protein bars and spending 20 minutes stretching our legs we were soon back on the saddle.
The next half of the journey involved riding against the sun as it was setting. It was warm, the breeze wasn’t in my favour. The road was clear and so I sped on until the landmarks and the road started to change. Mysuru has arrived but we haven’t reached the city center yet. We still had a long way to go.
No matter how relaxed I was, I wanted to sit down on firm ground, rest on a nice bed and have a cup of tea. I also wanted to reach the Oyo hotel that I had booked. And so we glided across the roads. And soon we were seeing township infrastructure, more commuter vehicles and direction boards pointing to the Mysuru palace.
Although we were tempted to pause for tea we didn’t. The time was almost 5pm and I didn’t want to risk leaving our luggage(saddle bags) out in the open.
And finally we reached our destination. The Oyo hotel that we had booked was 6km away from the city center, very close to the main road.
After parking the bike in a spot where I could see it, we went to the reception area to be received by a very worried host. She informs us that all the rooms are booked out and despite that OYO has been sending them guests their way.
I told her we had booked online. The kind and considerate lady was able to find for us a room that was getting vacated in the next 20 minutes.
We munched on a protein bar while we waited. Then I parked my bike below the floor level. With the help of the very conveniently placed elevator, we moved our luggage to the top floor, and waited in the room to be vacated and cleaned. But then we got informed by the host that there is a room on the second floor which was already vacant.
Because this was an impromptu trip I didn’t have much of an itinerary in mind. A quick gemini conversation revealed that the Mysuru palace would be open in the night because of the ongoing winter festival and flower show at the venue. Apparently the Mysuru palace stays open and lit up.
After a quick bath and change of clothes we were back again on the saddle, onto Mysuru palace. The weather was pleasant, however I took my gloves because my palms were feeling cold. The roads were easy to drive through and we reached the vicinity of the Mysuru palace.
A pretty looking food place near the palace caught our attention. A beautiful arcade, the grand white arches, and the stucco work seemed to suggest that it was at least a century old! But then on closer inspection I saw the ”Since 2001” subscript.
What made it more attractive was the vibrant red double-decker bus parked right in the building’s courtyard. Apparently this building was Mysuru’s Mothikhana building, the royal granary/warehouse of the Mysore kingdom during the time of the Wadiyar dynasty.
I was desperately in need of some tea after the long ride. However this was a bakery and offered only sweet items. The bakery manager. who was a malayali nudged us to try out the plum cake samples. The Naatil Evideya conversation ensued, after which we bought for ourselves the smallest piece of plum cake that we could find.
I was hungry for some masala dosa. But that would have to wait. My chaiholism got quenched at the makeshift doubledecker bus. The makeshift bus also promised other food. But those would have to wait.
We then headed to our main destination. The Mysuru palace. Owing to the winter festival and the flowershow that was happening on the palace grounds there were a lot of people on the roads. And yet the roads remained elegant thanks to the pink-lit horse driven togas which trotted across the roads, with eager joyriders.
The sight that awaited us after we entered the Mysore palace gates after paying the ticket fee was too beautiful to be caught well by the camera. Ten thousand bulbs, possibly LEDs coloured to look like incandescent bulbs, decorated the grand old castle.
Happy families walked around with toddlers, taking photos, Balloon sellers, toy vendors, and snacks stalls waited to capture the attention of eager onlookers. Amidst all this, on an open stage in front of the palace a live band was performing popular kannada numbers, with the singer trying hard to appeal to the nationalistic sentiments of the Mysorians.
The flower show seemed like it had a long queue, so we decided to watch it from afar. We also quickly stepped inside the Gayatri devi temple inside the palace grounds, and then exited for a long awaited dinner.
Dinner took us to Maddur Tiffany’s, another hotel which seemed like a heritage spot. The more than perfect waiter made an earnest plea to get us to try the Maddur Vada. We were happy with the Masala Dosa and chai. The hotel seemed to be a hotspot for people from all walks of life.
Sitting next to us what what I would dub as a Buddhist Family; A group of 4 buddhist monks, clad in the typical orange and red garment with clean shaven heads, Two of them were older men, probably in their 40s and 50s while the other two were younger, a child probably 6 years old and a teenager. The three seniors were busy being affectionate to the little one. A beautiful sight that stays in your memory.
After the sumptuous meal we headed back to our abode at Indra comforts. We rode slow, soaking in the cool breeze and the sights of mysore going to sleep. Back again to the comfort of the apartment.
This article is part of an ongoing series about my impromptu motorcycle ride from Bengaluru to Mysuru.
