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.
Val Vanderpool
All articles by Val Vanderpool
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (BRAIN) — Hundreds of industry representatives, from local, regional and national trail advocates and ambassadors to media and CEOs, from all over the country are gathering in Bentonville, located in Arkansas' Ozark mountains, this week for three days to share stories and plan the future of mountain biking.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (BRAIN) — On its final day in Charlotte, Bicycle Retailer’s Carolinas Dealer Tour covered a wide range of shops and a sizable geographical area as it traveled from Uptown Charlotte to the city’s southern reaches.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BRAIN) — CycloFest, Interbike’s mixed trade and consumer demo event held at the U.S. National Whitewater Center here, brought together bike enthusiasts, local trail riders and families from all over the Southeast for the event, which wrapped up on Sunday.
AUSTIN, Tex. (BRAIN) — Just two months after opening his first store outside the Austin city limits in Bee Cave, Texas, retailer Hill Abell has opened a fifth location near the University of Texas campus.
TULSA, Okla. (BRAIN) — When friends Matt Gragg and Curtis Kline decided to buy a business earlier this year, they looked at options in several industries, including a brand that makes packs for wildland firefighters and a company that manufactures fire trucks.
PARIS (BRAIN) — Italian saddle maker Selle Royal is showing its newest saddle collection at the first Autonomy urban mobility expo in Paris this week. The show features everything from share cars and Uber to electric scooters and cargo, folding and electric bikes. It runs from Friday, Oct. 7, to Sunday, Oct.
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (BRAIN) — Former SRAM technical ambassador Andy Jones has opened a RockShox mountain bike suspension service center, Squish Dynamics, in Western Oregon.
BEAVERTON, Ore. (BRAIN) — Longtime online retailer TeamEstrogen.com has announced it will close at the end of September.
Team Estrogen Inc. co-founder Susan Otcenas said a number of factors contributed to the decision, including price competition and changing consumer behaviors.
OAKLAND, Calif. (BRAIN) — After nearly three years of planning, a trio of business partners has opened a combination retail shop and café in the East Bay Area — Luckyduck Café and Bike Shop in Oakland.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Retailer Stuart Hunter, owner of four Roll: Bicycle Company locations, is making the move to online retail with his new custom bike program. The bike model is called the 1:Bike, and was recently launched on Kickstarter.