Val Vanderpool

Val is BRAIN’s newest staff writer. She comes to the magazine with a varied background including stints as a bike shop manager, bicycle tour guide, and race and event director. She also worked as a freelance writer in the outdoor and travel industries. Most recently, she taught women’s clinics and drove a demo van, working with Giant retailers all over the west. An Idaho native who has lived all over the northwest, Val is excited about her recent relocation to sunny southern California, where she can mountain bike, trail run, and garden year round. She lives in Silverado canyon with her boyfriend Brian and their two dogs. 

All articles by Val Vanderpool

January 13, 2016

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — As of Jan. 1, Full Cycle Bikes, one of Boulder's oldest bike shops, has changed hands. Russ Chandler and business partners Ed Kuh and Adam Brodnicki bought the business from Kaj and Karli Gronholm, who owned it for 10 years.

Posted in Retail News
January 6, 2016

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. (BRAIN) — Bicycle Retailer has selected Bike-n-Hike of Longmont, Colorado, for its 2016 Retail Remodel Project.

Posted in Retail News
December 8, 2015

DECATUR, Ga. (BRAIN) — Fred Boykin, founder and owner of Bicycle South outside of Atlanta, has announced that he is selling his shop to manager Brian Dunne and will retire at the end of the year.

Posted in Retail News
November 13, 2015

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (BRAIN — We traded palm trees, cityscape and Hollywood stars for the scenic and suburban Conejo Valley on Thursday, the third and final day of the L.A. Dealer Tour.

Posted in Retail News
November 6, 2015

MANHATTAN, Kan. (BRAIN) — Big Poppi Bicycle Company owners Aaron Apel and Jeff Koenig have announced plans to close the store at the end of December. After serving Manhattan and surrounding rural communities for seven years, the partners decided it was time to switch gears.

Posted in Retail News
October 21, 2015

LANCASTER, Pa. (BRAIN) — QBP welcomed retailers and suppliers to its first-ever Biketoberfest event this week. Some 175 retailers and about 30 brands convened in Lancaster, located an hour and a half west of Philadelphia.

Posted in Industry News
October 15, 2015

SEATTLE — Hedrick Cycles owner Carson Hedrick has opened a new retail showroom in Seattle, where the road brand is headquartered. Hedrick began making carbon road frames in 2009 as a tribute to his father and launched the brand at Interbike in 2014 with his Version4 frame.

Posted in Retail News
October 15, 2015

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After operating a mobile repair business for the past year and a half, Jim Steffen, known as The Bikesmith, is joining the ranks of the brick-and-mortar IBD.

Posted in Retail News
August 27, 2015

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — It was standing room only today at the Taiwan Excellence New Products Launch, presented in conjunction with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

Posted in International
August 26, 2015

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — At Eurobike on Wednesday, Italian saddle maker Selle Royal debuted its newest line, Scientia, which was designed in conjunction with researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany. 

Posted in Product/Tech

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