Bicycle parts become prosthetic legs

Good morning friend, it’s 2026-10-20.

Your daily dose of goodness: 5 stories and a little room to notice what is good.

Today: A bicycle mechanic turns familiar parts into repairable prosthetic legs; two formerly incarcerated teachers bring a course to Racine; Taiwan’s tea terraces pair old stonework with soil sensors; a Buffalo hospital valet receives a Bills surprise; and a closer look at “enough” separates inherited expectations from chosen values.

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Good Ideas

A bicycle mechanic’s skills become repairable prosthetic legs

Prosthetist and former bicycle mechanic Ben Hogan is turning familiar parts toward another kind of mobility: lower-limb prostheses. His Project Bike Leg shares designs freely so trained local teams can work with materials they can obtain and repair.

During a nine-day training visit to Ghana, Hogan and prosthetics students completed two prostheses, he told PEOPLE. The aim is to leave repair skills as well as devices behind, so local clinicians can keep adapting the design for people who need it.

SOME IDEAS ARE TOO IMPORTANT TO KEEP TO YOURSELF

For many aspiring authors, the biggest shift in starting your first book isn't having something to say. It's finding a clear path to begin.

The stories you've lived, the lessons you've learned, and the perspectives you've gained may be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

The Good Daily invites you to join a free live workshop where bestselling author and publishing expert Chandler Bolt will guide you through how to write and publish your book, even if you haven't started writing it yet.

RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT

Humans Are Good

Two former prisoners teach a course at Racine

Frank Davis and Aaron Hicks went into Wisconsin’s Racine Correctional Institution as teachers. The formerly incarcerated men created ECHO, a nine-week course covering identity, relationships, work and preparation for life after release.

An October report revisits the February-to-April pilot. Participants said the founders’ shared experience helped them speak openly, and educators reported that some men pursued further classes. Davis and Hicks are now seeking support to offer a full year of sessions.

“There is no remedy for love but to love more.”

Henry David Thoreau

Good Ideas

Taiwan’s tea terraces pair old stonework with soil sensors

On a hillside outside Taipei, grower Chien Chen-lung and researcher Li Chao-shiang are repairing stone terraces for tea. The old walls hold soil and channel water, while drip irrigation and moisture sensors help the revived plantations cope with less predictable rain.

The Shenkeng project also tests more resilient tea varieties and maps slopes at risk of landslides. Growers are rebuilding an industry that faded as the region urbanized. Better harvests and storm protection are goals, not results already demonstrated.

Humans Are Good

A Buffalo hospital valet gets his own Bills surprise

At Roswell Park in Buffalo, valet Jon Avery makes a point of encouraging people arriving for cancer care. Kate, a service manager at West Herr Automotive Group, remembered what his greetings meant during her treatment.

When she learned Avery was saving for a Buffalo Bills game, she rallied her colleagues. They surprised him with two tickets, field passes and a signed Josh Allen jersey. The man who welcomed patients through difficult days had a game-day visit of his own to anticipate.

A LITTLE REMINDER

I give myself room to stretch and grow.

Meaning and Purpose

Who Chose Your Definition of Enough?

Finish this sentence as honestly as you can: “Someone my age should already have…”

The answer might arrive quickly. A house. A bigger role at work. A settled plan for the next ten years. What takes longer is naming who decided that these were the measures.

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