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

December 13, 2017
The brand sells its goods online and at its brick-and-mortar store, The Cub House, in Los Angeles.
The Cub House opened in a larger location in October. Photo: The Radavist

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. (BRAIN) — With more than 31,000 Instagram followers, Team Dream Bicycling Team has garnered a global following since it began selling cycling kits, hats, water bottles, stickers and other merchandise on Etsy five years ago.

Posted in Product/Tech
December 11, 2017
Photo by customer @TipsyRider.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (BRAIN) — On Saturday, Dec. 9, 42 bike shops in 23 states and one in Stavropol Kai, Russia, held community events, fundraisers, sales and group rides in honor of the first-ever Bike Shop Day.

Posted in Retail News
December 7, 2017
Keener at a presentation in Boulder last month.

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — A new 20-video series to help retailers teach staff the basics of customer interaction is now available online. The one-minute Customer Satisfaction Training videos cover everything from basic greetings and manners to more specific topics like merchandising and selling service.

Posted in Retail News
December 5, 2017
The company also reported a 40 percent sales growth and has added 24 new stores in 2017.

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (BRAIN) — With a store count that continues to tick upward at a swift pace, Pedego's dealer event gets bigger every year.

Posted in Retail News
October 30, 2017

SEDONA, Ariz. (BRAIN) — Well over 100 women from all corners of the country and Canada gathered in this red rock mountain biking mecca for the first-annual Roam Bike Fest.

Posted in Industry News
October 20, 2017
A Utah shop dog.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — Bicycle Retailer's Dealer Tour visited Utah's capital in May of 2014. Since then, several shops we visited have added new locations, while one rebranded and another retailer remodeled and reopened three shops as Giant Partner Stores.

Posted in Retail News
August 28, 2017

SEATTLE (BRAIN) — When REI announced that it would send 16 female employees to Barnett's Bicycle Institute for a women's-only course, the outdoor retailer received more than 350 applications. The two-week course was held at BBI's campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado, earlier this month.

Posted in Retail News
August 25, 2017

TUCSON, Ariz. (BRAIN) — Following what retailer Seton Claggett described as a brutal five-year legal battle with his bank, TriSports.com is closing.

Posted in Retail News
August 10, 2017
First Flight Bicycles remains open for business.

STATESVILLE, N.C. (BRAIN) — In the months following retailer Jeff Archer's death after being struck by a car while crossing the street last July, the fate of his shop, First Flight Bicycles, remained uncertain.

Posted in Retail News
June 27, 2017

FARMINGTON, Utah (BRAIN) — Vista Outdoor, which owns several bike-related companies including Bell and Giro, has laid off 57 employees across its portfolio of more than 50 outdoor brands.

Posted in Industry News

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