The Greene County Historical Society invites everyone to a special program this Sunday.

The topic will be on bicycling history in Greene County. The Historical Society is partnering with Jefferson Matters: Main Street to put on the program, as another event leading up to arrival of the Smithsonian Institute’s traveling exhibit “Hometown Teams” from August 11th through September 23rd.

The speakers will be All Ability Cycles Co-Owners John and Ces Brunow. They will talk about the history of cycling in Greene County, starting in the 1890s up through today. Historical Society board member Chuck Offenburger says the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) Director T.J. Juskiewicz will be another speaker since Jefferson is a designated overnight stop on this year’s route.

“He’s going to talk about the history of RAGBRAI and the impact it’s had on Iowa. The interest created in bicycling, an outdoor activity, by RAGBRAI has been key to the development of the trail system in Iowa. Within the last five years, the University of Northern Iowa’s Business School has done a survey of the economic impact of bicycling in Iowa, (it’s a) $345 million industry per year.”

The free program takes place on Sunday at 2pm at the historical museum in Jefferson. No pre-registration is necessary and light refreshments will be served.