‘The roads are dangerous for cyclists’: Local council candidate’s bike ride goes wrong, breaks both arms

Local council candidate Jordan Galea Pace wanted to make a statement, and show that it is possible to cycle your way through your daily commute instead of opting for a car.

But his attempt went awry, instead ending up in hospital with two broken arms and instructions to stay home.

It started on Wednesday, when the Nationalist Party candidate for Swieqi decided to cycle from Swieqi to Mtarfa in an attempt to beat Malta’s traffic.

“Saved me 25 minutes. Put in my cardio. Removed one car from the street (we just need a few more),” he wrote in a Facebook post to promote his bike ride. In a separate post, he uploaded a photo of him giving a thumbs up, saying he managed to save 25 minutes of traffic.

But a day later, he posted another picture from a hospital bed with both arms in a sling.

“Never mind the roads are dangerous for cyclists,” Galea Pace said. “[Transport minister] Chris Bonett we need better infrastructure so other accidents won’t happen.”

Despite the injury, Galea Pace said he will continue his local council campaign, even joking that he will “find a new way to knock”.

According to the Times of Malta, Galea Pace was cycling along the route when he decided to get on the pavement as he felt cars were driving too close. As he tried to get on the pavement, he fell off his bicycle. It was only at 9pm later that day that he started to feel the pain intensify, and decided to go to Mater Dei Hospital.