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

March 12, 2014
Bill Holland (second from left) and staff.

SAN DIEGO (BRAIN) — Holland Cycles has moved its headquarters into a 1,800 square-foot showroom in San Diego to showcase its custom bicycles. The showroom features a state-of-the-art fit center, a bike display area and a service and build area that has quadrupled the company's previous capabilities.

Posted in Industry News
February 24, 2014

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BRAIN) — Peddler Bike Shop's flagship store, founded in 1971, will move to a new and bigger location across the street by May 1. The retailer has also opened a third store just south of the city and across the border in Southhaven, Miss.

Posted in Retail News
February 21, 2014
Spendid Cycles' Portland store.

PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) — Since it opened in 2010, Splendid Cycles has become one of the largest cargo bike retailers in the country, and the biggest U.S. distributor for Danish cargo brand Bullitt by Harry vs Larry.

Posted in Retail News
February 21, 2014
Tockman (right) with a friend and her new Public Bike.

NEW ORLEANS (BRAIN) — When Marin Tockman moved from New York to New Orleans in 2010, one of the first things she noticed about the city's bike scene was a lack of shops that made serving women a priority.

Posted in Retail News
February 18, 2014

ESCONDIDO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Two-time Ironman world champion Scott Tinley and former triathlon journalist Mike Plant have announced the launch of trihistory.com.

Posted in Industry News
February 10, 2014
IBD sales dip 2 percent in December, contributing to a 3 percent yearly decline.

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Total IBD merchandise sales fell 2 percent in December, according to Leisure Trends Group’s RetailTrak IBD sales summary. That contributed to a 3 percent decline in total merchandise sales in bike shops for the full year, compared with 2012.

Posted in Studies/Reports
February 4, 2014

MIAMI (BRAIN) – Rolling from The Mutiny Hotel in Coconut Grove on a balmy 75-degree morning, the BRAIN Dealer Tour immediately got a taste of what cycling in Miami is like.

Posted in Retail News
January 30, 2014

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (BRAIN) — After five years of doing business on Albuquerque’s east side, The Kickstand bike shop will close its doors on Feb. 8.

Posted in Retail News
January 28, 2014
'The pace won't slow down,' Amazon.com exec tells panel.

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (BRAIN) — The challenge of doing business in a rapidly changing retail environment was the central topic of the State of Multisport Retail panel at the Triathlon Business International North American Annual Conference held in Los Angeles this week.

Posted in Industry News
January 24, 2014
Vanessa Buccello (front) and Annie Byrne

CHICAGO (BRAIN) — It was the tagline for the women’s cycling Meetup group she was starting just over a year ago that inspired Vanessa Buccella to open a bike shop. 

Posted in Retail News

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