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

July 29, 2016

SQUAMISH, British Columbia (BRAIN) — Kona Bicycles will roll out its online sales program in select U.S. states later this year.

Posted in Industry News
July 15, 2016
Dennis Estrin

REDMOND, Wash. (BRAIN) —  Dennis Estrin, who founded Redmond Cycle in 1968 with his wife Marie, passed away on June 17 from complications of Lou Gehrig's disease. He had recently celebrated his 80th birthday.

Posted in Retail News
June 30, 2016
This year, Over the Hump moved to a new venue just up the hill from its former spot.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (BRAIN) — For the past three years, Matt Wenger and John Russell, who direct the popular midweek Over the Hump race series in Southern California, have thought about hosting a ‘non-number plate’ event in Orange County. 

Posted in Industry News
June 24, 2016

PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — Wake, caffeinate, eat, meet, eat, ride, eat, socialize...repeat in a spectacular setting. It's a little like Groundhog Day, of the best kind.

Posted in Product/Tech
June 23, 2016
White Lightning's new look.

PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — If it takes three occurrences to call it a trend, it seems safe to say 29ers are making a comeback in 2017 product lines.

Posted in Product/Tech
June 22, 2016

PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — The eighth annual Summer PressCamp kicked off Tuesday at Park City's scenic Deer Valley Resort under sunny skies, and for the first time, Outdoor PressCamp is running concurrently at the Deer Valley Lodge next door.

Posted in Product/Tech
June 9, 2016

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (BRAIN) — When the only bike shop in Leominster, Gear Works Cyclery, closed in March, Nate Jones decided it was finally time to open his own store.

Posted in Retail News
June 8, 2016

KAILUA, Hawaii (BRAIN) — The Bike Shop has moved its store in Kailua three blocks south to a more spacious and visible location. The retailer, which also operates stores in Honolulu and Aiea, has served Oahu since 1970 and Kailua since 1987.

Posted in Retail News
June 7, 2016

NAPA, Calif. (BRAIN) — When Brad Dropping, owner of Napa Valley Bicycle Tours, learned that a section of Napa Valley’s first separated bike path would open this summer, he began looking for a space for another location.

Posted in Retail News
May 12, 2016

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (BRAIN) — Retailer Kelli Kavanaugh will open her second shop in the Detroit metro area in mid-June. Wheelhouse Detroit's new store is located in Hamtramck, which lies about six miles north of Detroit.

Posted in Retail News

Pages