Hi Point name history

[TGTech]

Many people now know WHERE the Hi Point name came from, but does everbody know the details? I find it rather interesting given how things are done here.

Dane

[EdY]

Hi-Point came from the term used in Canada for the winner of an enduro.  If you won, you were said to have "hi-pointed" the event.  John and his family regularly rode, won, and enjoyed the Corduroy Canadian National Enduro.  He chose that name from his experiences in Canada for his accessory company.

Thanks,
Ed Y.

[TGTech]

Yeah, yeah, but how about the actual details? What exactly does Hi Point refer to in detail?

Dane

[Mike OReilly]

I'm not sure if this is what Dane is referring to, but here goes:

The Corduroy started in 1953 and was organized by the British Empire Motor Club; they had a scoring system where you started with 1000 points, and as you dropped points (minutes) through the event, your score dropped accordingly.

So, referring to my history of the Cord, in '57, the overall winner (and of course winner of the famous Corduroy Log) was Clarence Wise of Zanesville, Ohio on a Triumph TR6 with a score of 924 (thus "Hi-Point-ing" the event). Leroy Hartman of Plymouth, Mich. (BSA 500 single) was second with 879. Lightweight champion (175 NSU)(and winner of that year's Jackpine) was John Penton with a score of 863. Bill Sharpless of Toronto was mediumweight champ with 810.

In 1958, Mr. Penton (175 NSU) finished on top with a score of 957. Hartman (500 BSA) was second with 929 and the lightweight champion was Bert Weisz of Windsor, Ont. (250 DOT) 879 points.(Bonus question: what does "D.O.T." stand for? - see the 2003 Reunion Video) The heavyweight champ was Don Brice of Pontiac, Mich. (55 inch Harley!!!) with a score of 908.

So that is my understanding of the origin of the term. The Cord has run continuously since '53 (with the exception of 1969). Unfortunately, it appears that we may be headed toward the same situation as 1969, this year - not land use problems, but a shortage of layout crew to organize the event. At the moment, there is a round of the World Enduro Championship scheduled for July in Parry Sound, Ontario (requiring lots of help etc.) but no one has stepped forward to quarterback the Corduroy. I do know that if the event does not survive as a competitive enduro that it will be revived as an organized trail ride. It has always been a dream of mine to organize a Penton reunion trail ride to cover some of the same legendary terrain that figured so prominently in the Penton family history. Just another project to add to my to-do list I guess.

Mike

[gthong]

Is this the answer you are looking for:

at the start of an enduro... everyone has 1000 points.. there are hidden checks all along the route... you lose 1 point for every minute  LATE to a checkpoint... you lose 2 points for every minute EARLY to a checkpoint

The total number of points assesed is SUBTRACTED from 1000.  THUS... the HIGH TOTAL after subtraction is the winner.. as it means he lost the least points via being late or early to check points

At least that's how it was in the seventies..

Is this still the way  it;s done?

[TGTech]

THAT'S IT! When I first took interest in enduro's, that's the way I remember the point system worked. Today, the scoring goes the other way, i.e. a rider dropped 3 points at this check, 2 at the next one, etc. I wonder where and why the process changed?

Dane

[BrianTaylor]

Bert Weisz of Windsor  new him well recently passed away ... the DOT stood for "Devoid Of Trouble ".....BT

Brian Taylor

[firstturn]

Dane,

  When the system was changed it took a while for it to sink in to a lot of old racers.  Some of them just gave up and wouldn't adjust to the new system...they would just try to ride on the minute and quit worrying about THE NEW NUMBERING SYSTEM.  Neat History.

Ron Carbaugh

[Jeff D]

I liked the "old" enduro system where they gave you the course speed average (generally 24 mph) and that was that...no mileage resets, no speed changes to 48 mph to make a points-taking section...you  just went out with a working timepiece, a working route sheet holder, and a working odometer.  If you were just riding for ha-ha's you didn't even need an odometer since the course mileage was marked on the arrows at major intersections.
It's funny, in Trail Rider and some of the other enduro-oriented magazines, they still talk about riders "dropping points" at a check...as in dropping from 1000 downward...but the results list the total number of points "dropped", not the overall number of points "retained" out of your original 1000.  Oh well, I guess I'm just getting old like the rest of us!  Do love the qualifier rules where you don't have to keep time at all, just ride and have fun!


Jeff DeBell

[gthong]

regarding the 24 MPH average.. surely you guys remember the old VDO speedo converted to "enduro timers"   I have an old one with my penton.. and used them back in the 70's

the VDO was connected to the front wheel with the standard cable... but was recalibrated to rotate at the same speed as a clock (pocketwatch mounted in a special magnifiing holder on the bars

you set the watch and the intrument to "12:00".. just as you start time arrinved... then you just rode at the correct speed to keep the needle and the minute hand in the same position!!!!   easy... until you hit the first bottomless swamp with 50 bikes stuck in it!!

[firstturn]

gthong,
  The enduro timer was an interesting device.  I never used one since it was hard to keep time on a Moto X track, but I enjoyed Doug Wilford explaining the concept.  Thanks for bring up the subject.  Just another interesting piece of History of Racing.

Ron Carbaugh

[Chakka]

There is a VDO Enduro Timer on Ebay now. I put one on my Husky back in the day. I did a lot of riding alone and wanted a way to pace myself....man I had a new appreciation as to just how fast those enduro riders must have been in the woods. Cross a few steams, some rocky areas, get stuck in the mud for a minute and you have to fly to get that needle to match your watch hand again.
Chakka

[tlanders]

Hey Jeff,

We are going back to the "ISDT" qualifier rules this year at the ISDT Qualifier Warmups in April in Arkansas. No resets, you ride on your minute not real time. Much simpler then the ISDE rules. See you there?

Teddy

[Young Ted]

My guess is that the 'system' changed in the early 70's. Simplification is why it was changed. Before, you had to add the points dropped and then subtract from 1000. The riding-time keeping part is still the same.

Young Ted

[Lew Mayer]

Time-keeping was easy. Get behind and then spend the rest of the day trying to catch up.[xx(]

Lew Mayer