Victory Bicycle Studio and the growing bike communities in Memphis and the Midsouth
In spring 2020, I dusted off my 1999 road bike and took to Memphis’s roads and bike trails for COVID-free rides. Eventually, I worked up to about 20-mile treks and started considering upgrading my bike.
Bike technology has improved dramatically in the past 20 years. Maybe it was finally time for better gear. All my biking friends pointed me toward Victory Bicycle Studio in the Broad Avenue Arts District. What I found at Victory was not only a new high-tech bike but also a committed and fun biking community that Clark Butcher, Victory owner, intentionally works to develop. He likes the idea that if you take care of the customer, the customer will take care of you.
After purchasing and getting fitted for my new bike from Victory in spring 2023, I discovered their Sunday training group rides that run from June to September. Although I had never participated in large group bike rides and was nervous about riding in an actual Peloton, a friend convinced me it was worth a try. The training group offers goals of couch-to-50-mile or couch-to-100-mile rides, which is an idea that Butcher adapted from the couch-to-5k running theme. The end goal is the Big Dam Bridge race in Central Arkansas, which runs along the Arkansas River and over the Big Dam Bridge. Many summer training riders head over to this fun cycling event in September.
Memphis is not usually considered a road-biking mecca. In fact, last November the Commercial Appeal cited a study by Clever, a real estate site, that ranked Memphis last out of 50 cities for bike friendliness, referring to the relatively higher number of bike fatalities, fewer bike rental shops, and fewer bike trails than other U.S. cities. But the Hightailers Bicycle Club president, Tulio Bertorini, and Butcher disagreed, saying that wasn’t a fair way to judge Memphis biking. Butcher said that there is a thriving bike culture here.
The Memphis Bikeway and Pedestrian Program website says it has added more than 250 miles of new bikeways in the last ten years. These trails include the addition of the Wolf River Greenway, Shelby Farms Greenline, Big River Crossing, and new bike lanes. Nearby areas such as Herb Parsons Lake, Raleigh-Lagrange, and Meeman-Shelby Forest all have excellent road biking potential with decent roadways, light traffic, and gently rolling (steeper in Shelby Forest!) hills.
Meeman-Shelby Forest is the setting for the eighth year of Victory summer training groups. The ridership has continued to grow. Butcher says that more than 1200 people have completed summer training, including two couples who met their future spouses in the group. For Butcher the best compliment is when he sees Victory customers out riding.
“I didn’t send [them] a schedule, a route, what to eat, and when—I love that. I’ve hopefully influenced [them], or I’ve inspired [them] to go and do that,” he said.
The summer group rides originate near Meeman-Shelby Forest at Purlieu, a space owned and developed by Butcher, with parking and a refurbished hunting camp where occasionally food and beverages are served post-ride. There are even picnic tables for hanging out.
Victory is the hub that brings riders who might never meet otherwise together. By providing the time, space, and expertise to engage riders in longer and more challenging rides, Butcher has created an outlet for one of the biggest perks of the store: riding with customers.
Butcher shared pride in the diversity of riders, crediting the wide range of ages, sizes, races and ethnicities, creeds, and economic backgrounds—with a unique lean towards majority women cyclists. In fact, Women make up 60% of the shop’s business. Victory’s majority-women consumer base helped Butcher decide to focus on women’s apparel at the store.
Another fantastic feature of the summer training is that there is a plan and space for cyclists of all levels. Every summer Sunday, at least three groups of riders head out at different levels led by coaches from Victory. Ride courses and tips are emailed a few days before the Sunday training ride. The first couple weeks are to get acclimated to riding in an actual Peloton and to the hills and roadways of Meeman-Shelby Forest. This year, seven Victory coaches will be riding with bikers. Coaches also send follow-up training emails, and monthly training plans include weekly bike rides, cross-training, and nutrition suggestions.
Butcher grew up in the Memphis area and started working at bike shops at a young age. He got hooked on endurance sports and eventually cycled through his start in the Memphis Road Race Series when he was 9. He developed into a pro cyclist, riding in Europe during his college years. He started Victory Bicycle Studio out of a passion for biking and wants to pass on this passion to his community.
In addition to summer training, he started Women Only Wednesday rides. This is a leisurely paced no-drop (meaning the ride accommodates the pace of all riders) ride and is about 90 minutes. Saturdays are Community Ride days. The ride leaves from Victory in the late morning and is about a 15-mile ride open to all abilities. For the first time last year, the Victory Winter Training Series, which goes through February and March, culminated in approximately 200 riders participating in the inaugural Victory Rust Buster, a 50-mile road race starting at Purlieu. It attracted and connected cyclists from all over the country. Victory also hosts morning year-round spin classes twice a week at the store.
The summer training series was integral to my goal to complete the Memphis Half Ironman in October 2023, particularly on the biking leg and in the running section. As Butcher explained, cycling benefits running with increased muscle mass and cadence work. Whatever your sporting goal, cycling can help with cardio or simply improve mental health. And if you’re looking for a fun, supportive, inclusive, and knowledgeable community for any of your endurance athletic goals, look no further than the cycling community generated by Victory Bicycle Studio.
As Butcher says, “We only want to be welcoming and inviting, and we only want to be somebody that you want to trust, because we want to ride with you.”
Victory Bicycle Studio community rides are free and open to all on Saturdays. Follow @victorybicyclestudio on Instagram for more!
