Malaria caused 610,000 deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the World Health Organization. The Carbondale Rotary Club is working toward helping eradicate the mosquito-borne infectious disease. 

The club is hosting its second annual Bikes for Bikes fundraiser on Sept. 27 to raise money and awareness for malaria. Participants will ride a 15-mile route from Basalt to Ironbridge along the Rio Grande Trail. The route is almost entirely downhill. 

Last year, the event raised over $10,000, despite the fact that it was pouring rain on the day of the event. 

Participants may register as individuals or as teams. Individuals are challenged to raise at least $50 and teams are challenged to raise at least $220. 

This event works with the Rotarians Against Malaria group, which unites over 5,000 members worldwide to combat malaria. The money raised will go directly to Rotary clubs in Africa. 

Rotary International has historically coordinated global efforts to eradicate infectious diseases. Up until recently, the primary concern has been polio. Following promising progress toward polio eradication, groups have started expanding their efforts to other diseases. 

The Rotarian fight against malaria has roots in the Roaring Fork Valley. Dr. Daniel and Bryna Perlman spearheaded the efforts to leverage Rotary’s fundraising power to combat malaria. Daniel Perlman is a retired infectious disease specialist. He is also the executive committee chair of Rotarians Against Malaria. 

The Perlmans have made numerous trips to Africa as a part of Rotarians’ efforts to combat malaria. 

During a 2025 trip to Kenya, Daniel Perlman spoke with a community health promoter. The health promoters are referred to as doctors, or daktari in Swahili. The daktari, a woman in her 60s or 70s, recalled the challenges of treating malaria. 

One night, she received a call about a sick child in a village about 4 kilometers away. Despite the fact that the sun was setting and it was pouring rain, the daktari got on her bike, and rode to the neighboring village. 

She found the boy with a high fever, and he tested positive for malaria. She was able to administer malaria tablets and brought the boy to the clinic the next morning. 

Thanks to the treatment from the health worker, the boy survived. 

The boy “probably would have died if it hadn’t been for this lady going out there on her bicycle in the rain,” Daniel Perlman said. 

“Malaria is very treatable. It’s a problem of logistics, though,” said Tim Whitsitt, a Carbondale Rotary board member and Bikes for Bikes event organizer. 

“It is extremely difficult to get to large populations in those countries because there are no roads,” Whitsitt said. 

These bicycles are an integral part of combatting malaria. 

The bike the daktari rode is from Buffalo Bicycles. They are purpose built with durability, ease of maintenance in mind, and “big loads on tough roads in Africa,” according to the company’s website. 

The bikes are a fundraising focus of the Bikes for Bikes event. They cost $220, the suggested fundraising amount for a team. 

While with the Perlmans in Kenya, Whitsitt saw an opportunity to leverage the connection of bikes between Carbondale and fighting malaria to fundraise. 

“Let’s organize a bike ride, and through registrations and donations, in that bike ride, we can buy bikes and bed nets and that go to these countries and support the efforts of the community health promoters,” Whitsitt said.

The Bikes for Bikes event is not a race, but instead takes a noncompetitive “bike-a-thon” format. Participants are welcome to ride class 1 or class 2 e-bikes. 

Participants can register online at the Bikes for Bikes 2026 website.