1. Get a helmet
You'll understand when you read further on
2. Get a smog mask
Sure it make it harder to breath which is already hard given we are at 1800m (just under 6000ft) but Nairobi clearly has no emission laws! I do not want to think what the thick black smoke pouring out the back of many cars, Matatu's, trucks and busses would do to my lungs without one. And of course since many vehicles are imported and other have had some interesting modifications many of the exhaust pipes pump right at you rather than the centre of the road.
3. Get some glasses
Because it's so sunny I hear you say? No, because no-one has cleaned the roads in nairobi since...since...well probably never. As such there is more dust and dirt than you can imagine for vehicles to kick up into your eyes.
4. Get some puncture proof tyres (or tires).
As I mentioned the roads are a mess covered in dirt and stone. Also given the high accident rate and inability of driver to secure their loads it is also littered with glass, metal and other sharp objects. Without them I was averaging a puncture every week at least!
5. Expect the unexpected
As a friend of our once said, "Kenyan's use their indicators to try and fool you!". They're not wrong. Cars indicating left are as likely to take a right turn or go straight on as they are to go left. Driving on the pavement (sidewalk), no problem for Matatu's (informal minivan busses). Overtake you and then turn right in front of you so you have to stop, completely the norm. Pull out in front of you when you're just a a few metres away, the norm. I can guarantee at least 5 times during my ride to work I think of the worst thing the driver in front or beside me can so and they do it! if you don't expect it, you're probably going to be in trouble.
6. Watch out for pedestrians
It's not just cars you have to watch out for, the dozens of pedestrians streaming to and from work are also a major hazard, as are traders selling products to drivers stuck in jams. Expect then to step into the road without looking for a bike, expect them to appear from in front or behind a parked car. Perhaps I need to get a big bike horn.
7. Know your route
You may be used to clear road markings, lane markers, give way signs, traffic lights. Even in the few places where they exist in Nairobi they are ignored. The only way to know if you have right of way, how many lanes there are and where you should be is to watch and learn. Oh and be careful as it will change depending on the time and how many vehicles there are.
7. Have an escape route
Since the unexpected is going to happen and it's going to happen quick you need escape route, since the driver causing the problem isn't going to change what he is doing. The mud track at the side of the road works well so pick a route where there is one, a ditch as an escape routs is just not going to work.
8. Learn some local signals!!
You're riding down the street when you come face to face with a car on the wrong side of the road leaving you no space, what do you do? Raise your arm in a twisting, questioning motion. The equivalent to shouting "What are you doing you crazy idiot!"
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