Off to Texas we went !!!

[Paul Danik]

It took all of maybe 3 minutes to commit to a one week, 3,000 plus mile road trip to the Hill Country of Texas once I saw the pictures of Laurie Shelton's 100cc Penton Berkshire and spoke with her about the bike. Laurie described her Berkie as an " absolutely ripping little bike that handled really, really well ". She said it was the last of her Pentons, and her favorite one as well !  Laurie's barn is equally divided between her two passions, half of it is devoted to the one on two wheels while the other half is devoted to the one on four hoofs, and I soon learned that she is very highly respected in both worlds !

    As the miles clicked by, I became more and more intrigued not only about the bike, but also about Laurie and her story. Once Judy and I arrived at Laurie and Denman's ranch it only took a few minutes to feel comfortable enough to ask her about her story. She said that her father was a mechanic and that she learned her mechanical skills from him. A little Honda was her first bike and soon enough a Hodaka came up for sale, and she entered the world of Hodakas, in due time she attended several Hodaka Days and raced mainly at Diamond Don's and Reo Bravo. Laurie went on to say that she was intrigued by the heritage of the Penton brand as well as few others such as CZ  which over the years she acquired and raced. The Berkie had started out as a 125cc Six-Day, but she liked running in the 100cc class, fellow Hill Country resident and Penton expert Ron Carbaugh had a 100cc top end that Laurie acquired and installed.  If you want to see just how good of a mechanic Laurie is click on the video link below.

  Laurie last raced the Berkie some years back and stated that it may need a going through, which will be a pleasure. I am excited to get the Berkie fired up and throw some dirt with it as well, and hope to display it in some of the upcoming 60th. anniversary of the Penton events. Laurie mentioned that at one of the Texas events that she raced in Lyle Lovett came up and told her how much he liked her Berkie and took some photos of it. I am sure that John Penton himself would have been in awe at what Laurie has done with one of his Penton Sportcycles, especially given that she personally did the work with the skills that her father passed along to her.

[Hodaka Ace 90 Build](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYosjCkczPU)