Anybody who is familiar with Dr. Henning Butzow knows that this is a man who can all look up to. Dr. Butzow is a motorcycle aficionado and he’s literally traveled all over the world via motorcycle, all in the spirit of enjoying the world on two wheels. But Dr. Butzow isn’t just a bike nut; he’s also a philanthropist at heart, having done numerous motorcycle events for charitable purposes, including the upcoming Ride of Smiles, a 50,000-mile motorcycle journey around the world that begins in New York City on May 1, 2015.

During the course of his global joy ride, Dr. Butzow will be asking for donations from all of his stops with the hope of collecting €50,000 ($56,020), which he plans to give to four-reputable aid projects, specifically the Doctors Without Frontiers, Christian Blind Mission, United For Africa and the Bayerischer Rundfunk’s ‘Sternstunden’.

It’s a nice gesture from Dr. Butzow, but it’s also not surprising. Remember, he’s the same man who participated in a similar long-distance charity run back in 2008. It’s been seven years since the Ride of Change event, but from the looks of things Dr. Butzow’s heart and intentions are still in the right place.

For it’s part, BMW is once again throwing its support to Dr. Butzow by donating an R1200GS Adventure that the doctor will use as he travels across North, Central and South America, into Australia and New Zealand.

Continue reading to read more about Dr. Henning Butzow’s Ride of Smiles charity ride.

Why it matters

At the risk of sounding like a fan boy, I’ll just come out and say it. What Dr. Henning Butzow is doing is really admirable, and the way he was able to combine two of his passions - motorcycles and charity - and turn it into an event of this scope is nothing short of extraordinary.

Rest assured, his Ride for Smiles charity ride isn’t going to get a lot of media attention, even though this is the kind of news that deserves its own space. I’m more than happy to give Dr. Butzow his well-deserved space here on TopSpeed. I really hope that more people become aware of what he’s doing and what he plans to accomplish with the Ride for Smiles event.

Speaking of giving credit, a special hat tip also goes to BMW Motorrad for recognizing Dr. Butzow’s mission early on and stepping up to give him motorcycles he could use during this long-distance charity runs.

Should you wish to make a donation for the event, you can go to the Ride of Smiles homepage or just hop directly to the donation pages of the aforementioned charities. It’s nice to know that more than 11, euros have already been donated even before the event has begun. Hopefully, more donations arrive once Dr. Butzow begins his epic ride. Who knows, donations might even exceed 50,000 euros when all is said and done.

That’d be really cool.