Riding a bike to work?

dude i suggest you dont try for a bike ride to work, A bike is good to avoid traffic and reach office early, but before that do you want to reach heaven early???? Nairobi is not a good place for bike riding. Even i love bikes and in india i tried all bikes on different roads and conditions, but here i am scared to do so. You may be perfect in your driving skills, but what if some ass hole mistake costs you much? here car drivers are little fine but matato drivers are worst. So pelase remove this thought from your mind and try something safe one.. good luck...

I agree with suribhai

In a word...don't.  That particular road has narrower parts and lots of busy crossroads (where accidents are frequent) and is a major bus route.  If you get into trouble on a bike, there is nowhere to get off the road.  Kenyan drivers dont have any respect for other road users and cyclists are at the bottom of the 'pecking order'.  You would be knocked off, injured, or worse.  Walking, or going by bus would be my advice.

In fact, if you enjoy living, dont cycle anywhere in Nairobi.  Many roads are built up above the verges and there are often drainage channels on the sides, so you cannot swerve out of the way without this resulting in an accident.  Personally, I would only consider cycling somewhere like Hells Gate National Park.

Thanks Guys for all your responses, that had been my gut feel based on living in some other African cities, but then someone said "oh a lot of expats have bikes and ride to work" which didn't feel right and which you've all confirmed!
Cheers

Hello Kartik Masters:  Having lived in the Argwings Kodhek Rd area, the road is always busy, especially from Yaya Centre, towards the city centre, especially so at commuting times.  True, you could fall in the shower, but why indulge in an activity which is known to be very high risk, in order to get to work?  Cyclists are the most vulnerable of road users and are not respected, or accommodated by drivers (particularly of buses and matatu's).  I have seen one to many bicycles crushed beneath the wheels of a vehicle, for comfort.

There are a lot of pedestrians, so cycling on the pavement just wouldn't work and you would end up pushing the bike.  There are sections of this road without pavement, or where it is poor condition.

Using the back streets and alleys?  I would not recommend this to a lone female expat.