At first glance Athens, Georgia may seem like a small college town in the South. In the music industry, it is known as being the birthplace if bands like REM, Widespread Panic and The B-52s. In the world of sports, it hosted the first women's soccer tournament in Olympic Games history in 1996, using the same stadium that erupts each fall with record-breaking decibels of sound for University of Georgia football games.
Before the quiet of summer when the majority of the 40,000 UGA students disperse from campus, downtown Athens explodes again for what is considered more than a bike race, but the biggest one-day bike race in the Southeast, the Athens Twilight Criterium. Now in its 45th year, amateur and pro races make it an all day, and all night, party.
