Nairobi sits at about 1,700 metres on the edge of the Kenyan highlands, and it is the capital of East Africa in every sense: busy, noisy, hopeful and full of traffic. With nearly three million people in the city and more around it, it is a big and fast place. The name comes from a Maasai phrase meaning cool water, a reference to the stream that once ran here, and the city grew in 1899 as a railway depot on the line from Mombasa to Uganda. It is the only major capital with a national park on its edge, where lions and giraffes can be seen against a backdrop of skyscrapers.
To ride out, plan your timing. Nairobi's traffic is notorious, and the main roads leading out of the city, especially toward Naivasha and the Rift Valley, are clogged during morning and evening peaks. Matatus, the colourful minibuses, weave in and out with little warning, boda-boda motorbike taxis are everywhere, and rules are interpreted flexibly. Ride defensively, stay visible and give trucks plenty of space. The best time to leave is early on a weekend morning, before the city wakes up.
The reward is the Rift Valley escarpment, a short distance to the northwest. The road climbs out of Nairobi through the green hills around Limuru, with tea plantations and eucalyptus, and then comes to the edge of the great rift, where the land suddenly falls away into a vast plain. The view is one of the great ones in Africa, with extinct volcanoes on the horizon and the floor of the valley far below. There are viewpoints with craft stalls, and a small chapel built by Italian prisoners of war in the 1940s stands near the edge.
Fuel is plentiful in Nairobi, and since stations are thinner beyond the main towns, fill up before you go. Food is good too: nyama choma, grilled meat with ugali and kachumbari, and strong Kenyan tea and coffee. The weather is mild, with rains in March to May and October to November, so the dry months of January, February and June to September are best. Keep valuables out of sight and park carefully in the city, and the road ahead will repay you.