To those who know him, Chamblee resident Lou Alvarado is a big-hearted man who loves his Harley Davidson motorcycles and is active with community fund-raisers.

For much of his life he has combined the two, such as the time last summer when he and his partner Sandra Petrakis rode a single Harley 6,000 miles from northern Alaska to Key West, Fla., with other motorcycle enthusiasts. The "Iron Torch" ride raised awareness and money for the Special Olympics.

Lou Alvarado (ENLARGE)

Lou Alvarado and Sandra Petrakis arrived in Alaska for a state Harley Owners Group meeting prior to leaving for the 6,000-mile Iron Torch Ride in June 2007.

(ENLARGE)

Lou Alvarado charted the 6,000-mile Iron Torch Ride.

Lou Alvarado (ENLARGE)

Pausing in Canada along the 'Iron Torch' ride for the Special Olympics, the couple would eventually become legendary among Harley owners for finishing the daunting course on a single bike.

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Although Alvarado and Petrakis faced hundreds of miles of gravel road in Alaska, where rocks the size of cantaloupes shifted dauntingly under their fast-moving bike, nothing has compared to the challenge of trading the seat of his beloved 100th anniversary Harley for an 18-pound titanium wheelchair.

Alvarado, 50, who runs Handy Husband, a small home-projects and home-repair business, was working on a customer's roof in late April when he fell 18 feet from a ladder.

He knew right away that he was in serious trouble. A crushed vertebra left him paralyzed from the waist down.

"I'm hopeful that I'll be back on my motorcycle," Alvarado said. "But I've never, ever gone down the road of 'Why me?' From the moment I fell, the blessings have been coming in. It's overwhelming at times. We have miracles and surprises every day."

The injury would not be his only challenge. Alvarado has no medical insurance.

Petrakis, a clinical social worker, reached out immediately to the many friends and professional associates who have witnessed Alvarado's readiness to help others. They helped get him one of the few scholarship beds at the renowned Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta. He spent two months in rehabilitation, learning everything from skin care to negotiating sidewalks.

Those who helped say they were only giving back.

Alvarado and Petrakis have logged about 100,000 miles riding "two up" on a single bike for various cross-country fund-raisers, according to Petrakis' estimate. Alvarado is a Navy veteran; a member of Stone Mountain H.O.G., the Harley Owners Group; and a Rotarian.

He also is the incoming Atlanta president of the National Association of Remodeling Industry. Friends from more than 30 NARI companies nearly fought for the chance to remake Alvarado's surroundings.

"We really just asked for two things, a bigger bathroom and a ramp to the front door," Alvarado said. What they got was a complete renovation of their house off Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

He jokes that the wheelchair ramp appears solid enough to accommodate a tank and the enlarged windows "don't have anything to do with me being in a wheelchair, but they certainly are wonderful!"

Dale Contant, owner of Atlanta Design and Build, said NARI members and associates donated all of the materials and about 1,000 hours of work. Their work was inspired, he said, "by the blessings that Lou has dished out to many people and associations over the years."

Alvarado's business continued with the help of a business partner, but he has already gone back to school at DeKalb Tech, where he is furthering his skills in motorcycle maintenance.

He and Petrakis said they will continue fund-raising for groups such at the Atlanta chapter of the American Diabetes Association and the Muscular Dystrophy Association and for breast cancer research.

Meanwhile, the teamwork that he and Petrakis mastered on the Harley continues in their everyday life as they discover a new sense of normal.

"Looking back," Petrakis said, "it's like we have been training for this all along."