A local council candidate's attempt to beat the traffic by promoting his bike ride on social media did not exactly go to plan when he ended up in hospital, nursing two broken arms.
Jordan Galea Pace happily posted snapshots of his commute from Swieqi to Mtarfa but his route was interrupted when he reached Triq tal-Balal, off Għargħur.
Galea Pace, a Nationalist Party candidate for Swieqi, decided to cycle from Swieqi to Mtarfa after having spent three hours stuck in Wednesday morning's notorious traffic jam.
When the time came to visit his girlfriend in Mtarfa in the evening, he decided to opt for his e-bike.
"Only way to beat Malta’s traffic and get from Swieqi to Imtarfa on time. Saved me 25 minutes. Put in my cardio. Removed 1 car from the street (we just need a few more). PS: I wore a helmet before my Nanna calls me worried," the 21-year-old student wrote on Facebook.
He then posted another picture of him giving a thumbs-up with the caption: "Mtarfa - saved 25 minutes of traffic."
The next post took a dramatic turn - it showed the young candidate in a hospital bed, his arms bandaged: "Never mind the roads are dangerous for cyclists… [Transport minister] Chris Bonett we need better infrastructure so other accidents won’t happen. Even if I can’t use both of my arms as they’re both broken and have been ordered to stay home I will continue campaigning and fighting for every vote ( I’ll find a new way to knock). Because Malta deserves better," he said, before thanking all the nurses and doctors at the Mosta clinic and Mater Dei emergency.
Contacted on Thursday, Galea Pace, said: "As I was cycling, I felt cars driving too close, so I decided to get on the pavement."
As he tried to mount the pavement, Galea Pace fell off his bicycle.
"With the adrenaline, I didn't feel like I had broken anything and I even managed to ride all the way to Mtarfa."
Despite feeling some pain when he arrived back, he still posted on his Facebook wall to say how his commute saved him time.
But at around 9 pm, he was taken to the health centre as the pain intensified, before eventually going to Mater Dei hospital.
"I broke both my arms," he said.
Asked if he would take to cycling again, Galea Pace said: "It's a great way to travel, but we need better infrastructure. If there was decent infrastructure, I would have really enjoyed the commute, but now I don't think I'll use the bicycle, mainly because safe bicycle routes are lacking. Even getting to two of Swieqi's neighbouring towns - San Ġwann and St Julian's is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists."