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

September 18, 2018
Mass brand makes major investments amid market disruption — and wants to bring the IBD along for the ride.
Huffy's Bill Smith

DAYTON, Ohio (BRAIN) — In its 126-year history, Huffy Bicycles has proved time and again that the ability to adapt is embedded in its DNA. From world wars and the slow death of American manufacturing to the rise of mass retailing and the current retail apocalypse, the company, which got its start when founder George Huffman purchased manufacturer Davis Sewing Machine in 1891, has endured just about every market disruption of the modern era.

Posted in Industry News
September 10, 2018

PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — Park City Bike Demos, a retailer offering rental and paid-demo bicycles that are available for sale, is selling the business's assets for $120,000. The money will be used to pay the company's debtors.

Posted in Retail News
August 13, 2018

REDDING, Calif. (BRAIN) — More than a dozen large wildfires continue to burn in California, with several thousands acres destroyed as the state also endured the hottest July on record.

Posted in Retail News
June 26, 2018
UPDATED

WEST COVINA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Foldaway Solutions, which distributes Oyama Bicycles, Uniche and BTP Bar Tape, is working with BionX Canada's battery supplier to provide replacement batteries for its e-bike conversion kits following the company's bankruptcy and resulting sale of some of its assets earlier in June.

Posted in Industry News
June 21, 2018

AURORA, Ontario (BRAIN) — Three companies have purchased parts of BionX Canada following a three-month search for a buyer.

Posted in Industry News
June 21, 2018

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BRAIN) — Retailer Bruce McGrew recently opened a second Pro Cycling store on Colorado Springs' east side. Located in a high-traffic retail development, the new store serves a growing part of the city, which is home to about 450,000 residents. The shop opened its doors mid-June.

Posted in Retail News
June 4, 2018

IRVINE, Calif. (BRAIN) — After serving Orange County cyclists for more than a decade, ARB Cyclery’s last day of business was May 31.  

Posted in Retail News
June 1, 2018
Endurance House Orange County opened in Laguna Niguel, California, in 2015.

AUSTIN, Tex. (BRAIN) — Endurance House locations in Jacksonville, Florida, and Laguna Niguel, California, have recently closed. The two stores were independently owned and operated franchises, each with an average four to six employees and around 3,000 square feet in size.

Posted in Retail News
June 1, 2018
 Onion River Outdoors reopened in early May

MONTPELIER, Vt. (BRAIN) — When retailer Onion River Sports closed its doors after 43 years in business last December, an outpouring of community support made it possible for the store's former manager, Kip Roberts, and his wife, Jen, to purchase the business.

Posted in Retail News
May 3, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS (BRAIN) — PeopleForBikes recognized and awarded several cities at the second annual PlacesForBikes conference, which wraps up today in this Midwestern city.

Posted in Industry News

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