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 8, 2014

TUCSON, Ariz. (BRAIN) — Transit Cycles, slated to open at the end of January, will be the first shop in Tucson to focus solely on transportation cycling. Owner Duncan Benning, a 19-year veteran of the bike industry, has wanted to open a shop since he was in high school.

Posted in Retail News
January 7, 2014
Peachtree Bikes lost all its inventory, fixtures and memorabilia.

ATLANTA, GA (BRAIN) — Peachtree Bikes will reopen in a new location after its flagship store was destroyed by a fire in early December that also damaged several other businesses occupying a historic building located in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the fire.

Posted in Retail News
December 27, 2013

BODFISH, CA (BRAIN) — Known for his inventive and useful bicycle tools, Paul Morningstar was found dead at his house in the Kern River Valley in Southern California on Saturday.

Posted in Industry News
December 23, 2013
A holiday display at Penn Cycle in Blaine, Minn.

BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) — As the holiday shopping season comes to a close, retailers are still feeling the effects of the 100-year flood that ravaged Colorado’s front range in mid-September. Heavy rain and catastrophic flooding took a toll on life, property and industry.

Posted in Retail News
December 4, 2013

TUSTIN, CA (BRAIN) — Despite deep discounts and sales that started earlier than ever, Thanksgiving weekend sales were down for the first time in seven years, according to the National Retail Federation.

Posted in Retail News
November 26, 2013

LANCASTER, OH (BRAIN) — Dan Peters, owner of Lancaster Bicycle, passed away Nov. 22 after a long battle with cancer. He was 41.

Posted in Retail News
October 18, 2013

LOS ANGELES, CA (BRAIN)—The idea to start a women’s mountain biking group in southern California was sparked over happy hour conversation. Good friends and avid mountain bikers Wendy Engelberg and Kim Cofield saw a need for a place for women to meet other lady cyclists.

Posted in Industry News
October 16, 2013
Peter and Jeanne Henry commuting to Landry's

FRAMINGHAM, MA (BRAIN) — Jeanne Henry, a longtime co-owner and employee of Landry’s Bicycles, passed away Tuesday in the loving care of her family after a 23-year battle with cancer. She was 57.

Posted in Retail News
October 14, 2013

PETALUMA, CA (BRAIN) — In line with the ethos upon which the Society of People Who Actually Make Their Own Sh*t (SOPWAMTOS) was founded, frame and component builder Bruce Gordon is set to open his first brick-and-mortar store this month.

Posted in Retail News
October 11, 2013

CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN)—Utility and sustainability intersect at Green Machine Cycles, which opened in late September in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. With a focus on cargo bikes and accessories for everyday use, owner Ezra Hozinsky also aims to reduce the shop’s environmental impact.

Posted in Retail News

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