Can I suggest that the latest news be edited in the first page. It would help immensely.

Well first for all , we would like to see you itnerary as on how many days you have in hand .. What you have posted above gives me a feeling that you need to do a lot of homework before you venture on this souther soujourn. Some points from my side..
1. Goa to Coorg is way too far and there are loads of routes and it entirely depends on what you love (Forstets and loney roads OR Beaches with hustle OR A spiritual retreat at various divine places)
2. Between Ooty and Kanyakumari which Kerala is turning up. The actual thing that would go better in hand is Ooty--> Coimbatore-->Madurai-->Kanyakumari

If I had to plan a venture something like what has been stated above, I would do as below.

Pune-->Hampi-->C'Durga-->Hiryur-->Hassan-->Chikmagalore-->Sakleshpur-->Bisle-->Somwarpet-->Madikeri-->Mysore-->Ooty-->Coimbatore-->Madurai-->Kanyakumari-->Traverse thro, Kozhikode, Kannanur, Kasargod and reach Mangalore--->Karkala-->Agumbe-->Shimoga-->Honnavar-->Gokarna-->Goa-->Either Konkan circuit via NH17 or head to belgaum and hit NH4 and a four lane drag till chandni chowk pune !

Though it misses pondy in the list but , I guess its surely not worth the extra mile crunch over the TN section keeping in mind the fact that you have goa in the list.

Cheers,
Pai

This route is pretty difficult with a pillion buddy.You think your pillion will be able to manage being one close to around 4k kms, Half of which there is no tarmac( or deficiency of it) Google maps doesnt work at half the places properly Since its your first ride, kindly wait for some time.Get accustomed to highway and ghat riding. Don't take this as a discouragement, but for your safety. You and your bike needs to be in excellent condition in order to accomplish this.Get the hold of your bike, learn some minor repairs and then head out. Also getting in touch with someone who has already done this stretch will help a great deal.

Solo Ride to Shimoga - Karnataka

Hi Guys,

This is Sunay and I am planning for a solo ride tomorrow on my R15 to Shimoga, Karnataka.

Can you please suggest me the best route and how is the road conditions? Also the best place to stay in Shimoga and cafes on the way.

Will appreciate your help on this.

Regards.

Welcome aboard.

Bangalore to Tumkur Roads are fantastic.

Tumkur to Tiptur roads are decent though you can find pot holes now and then due to construction. (I am not sure if the roads are recently completed)

Tiptur to Shimoga you can happily cruise.

But after Tumkur no where its a divided lane. So ride carefully.

Thanks Sreeni...Hope the roads are completed and will have a nice ride all the way. Will update with the pics and travelogue once i'm back.

Route: Bangalore - Hassan - Madikeri - Bangalore

Route: Bangalore - Hassan - Belur - Hassan - Madikeri (via Gorur) - Bangalore

Road Conditions:

1) Bangalore to Belur Cross - Excellent (4- way delight )
2) Belur Hassan - Chanarayanapatna (CR patna) - OK (Single lane with lots of diversions, Nightmare to ride at Night)
3) CR Patna to Hassan - OK (Single Lane with better heads-up for diversions )
4) Hassan to Belur - Excellent (is an understatement, one of the best in India)
5) Hassan to Madikeri (via Gorur) - Pathetic ( not at recommended, took me 4 hrs to cover 115kms)
6) Madikeri - Mysore(SH88) - Excellent (is an understatement, one of the best in India)
7) Mysore to Bangalore - Good ( Worst road sense traffic coupled with surprises(road humps)

The past few times that I've been traveling on SH17, I time my trips such that I am riding/driving either before 7AM or after 11PM in order to avoid the morons of this deadly road!

Road Conditions as on 12.10.2011

Route taken: Bangalore-Tumkur-Gubbi-Arasikere-kadur-Birur-Tarikere-Bhadravathi-Shimoga-Sagar-Thalaguppa-Mavingudi-Mensi-Siddapur-Kansur-Sirsi-Sonda-Yellapur-Thalaguppa-Jog Falls-Kargal-Nagavalli-Bhatkal-Kundapur-Udupi-Karkala-Kudremukh-Kalasa-baalehole-Baalehonnur-Aldur-Chikmagalur-Belur-Hassan-Kunigal-Bangalore

Bangalore-Tumkur: Part of GQ= excellent roads

Tumkur-Gubbi-Arasikere: Potholes at most places.

Arasikere-Kadur-Birur-Tarikere: Beautiful roads(part of NH206).The last few kms before Tarikere,the "craters" are being filled ,most of them have already been done.

Tarikere-Bharavathi-Shimoga-Sagar: Mix of 2lanes,4 lanes and forest roads,Road quality is very good except for few stretches around Sagar

Sagar-Thalaguppa-Siddapur: Except for roads around Sagar, the road condition is pretty good.

Siddapur-Sirsi-Sonda-Yellapur : Excellent roads from Siddapur to Sirsi( one of the best stretches after rains) Post Sirsi,roads become narrower but the road quality is good throughout .

Jog-Kargal-Nagavalli-Bhatkal: Except for the last 20kms before Bhatkal, the road are not in the best of its shape.It is like you are sitting on a NOKIA 3310 and some keeps calling you for the next hour and a half. Its not as pothole filled as Jog-Honnavar( except for the last 20kms before Honnavar), but becomes an irritation after some time.If anybody planning to do Bhatkal-Sigandur on this stretch, the bridge has collapsed.So have to take a detour of 100-120kms via Jog Falls and Sagar.The last 20 odd kms before Bhatkal is very good downhill twisties.

Bhatkal-Kundapur-Udupi: Angel at many places, demon at most. Can be fooled by a good set of tarmac and suddenly a crater like pothole pops u shouting "Surprise" And Not to mention the driving etiquette of the road users,Its like signing an agreement before entering NH17 which would state " You are responsible for your own accidents, even if you have parked the vehicle and having tea at a tea shop "

Udupi-Karkal-Bajagoli-S.K.Border-Kudremukha: Roads are at its worst possible condition till Bajagoli.Post Bajagoli, the roads of Paradise open up to Kudremukh. Brilliant roads uphill

Kudremukha-Kalasa-Baalehole-Baalehonnur-Aldur-Chikmagalur:The road quality ceases to fade till Baalehonnur. POst baalehonnur good and bad patches, exchange positions but very much a rideable stretch

Chikmagalur-Belur-Hassan-Bangalore: Beautiful roads.Small potholes sprung up on Chikmagalur-Belur stretch ,manageable.Hassan-Bellur Cross 4-laning in progress have to be extra cautious.Post Bellur Cross, the roads become excellent

hey guys i leave for udupi from bangalore tomorrow morning could anyone update the road conditions.

i plan to to go via bangalore-hassan-sakleshpur-upinangdy-manglore-udupi

a better, quicker alternate, if any, would be appreciated

If you want a more scenic, a bit longer route,take the route in the above post Bangalore-hassan-chikmagalur-Vastare-Aldur-balehonnur-baalehole-Kalasa-Kudremukh-Karkala-Udupi. Longer by 40kms or so, but definitely more enjoyable. Leave bangalore by 4am types and when the sun is starting to warm up you will be in the midst of nature.Yeah you have to be a bit more careful on this stretch. And if its by a cage, kindly reconsider

thanks a lot, i shall be going by bike so i guess i'll stick to the earlier route itself, thanks a lot though.

updates on roads from bangalore to mangalore

roads are four lane till halfway to hasan as construction is going one....some 20 kms before charanyapatna the roads converge to two lanes ,,driving shud be preferred in the morning only as there are no street lights along the way ,,,hasan to sakleshpur is beautiful drive ,,,,once the ghat sections begin ,,,,the beauty of the imposing lush green mountains would take the pain caused due to the very patchy roads,,after the ghats the roads till mangalore are silk smooth ,,

to murudeshwar and back

hey, couple of us plan to ride from b'lore to murudeshwar and back in about 3 days (1st weekend of november). I'm a little confused between choosing, a route via (mangalore-udupi) or the one via shimoga. There would be a pillion too.

Also, any other info like scenic spots and safety would be great!

If you want a scenic route, then go in for the shimoga one. On the whole road quality is almost the same as the Blore-mangalore-Udupi route but minus the traffic.Except for roads around sagar(about 4-5kms before and after) and 20kms from Jog,the roads are good enough to be ridden.

On another note, having a pillion on a 1k+ ride will be very uncomfortable for the Him/Her(in most cases)