In 2016, Athens-Clarke County earned the designation of Bicycle Friendly Community from the League of American Bicyclists and was awarded the Bronze Award for its efforts to encourage bicycling in the community.

Athens-Clarke County was again selected as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the bronze level until 2020, which recognizes a strong community commitment to cycling, responsiveness to the needs of cyclists, and bicycle usage above average for U.S. communities. Athens-Clarke County previously received a bronze level designation in 2011.

Athens-Clarke County has a goal to promote safe roads for cyclists. The county is home to 19.6 miles of bike lanes, six miles of multi-use paths, and 58.75 miles of marked shared road. Several current and future projects will continue to expand and improve the community's bicycle infrastructure.

• Work on a Rails-to-Trails multi-use path segment of the North Oconee River Greenway from East Broad Street to Old Winterville Road through Dudley Park is expected to be fully completed in early 2018.
• Three additional segments of the North Oconee River Greenway multi-use path that will connect Oak Street, the Oconee Street Park & Ride, and College Station Road to the existing segments of the Greenway are expected to be completed by mid-2018.
• The new Athens in Motion bicycle and pedestrian master plan is under development by a citizens and staff committee that will look for ways to incorporate new and modern criteria for future projects.
• The Firefly Trail is a project fully funded by TSPLOST (2011 Project #6) that connects Union Point to Athens via a 39-mile trail. Recently, the first section of the project opened between downtown Athens and East Athens and features a 500-foot-long bridge over the North Oconee River.