He could not believe how well he got the Powerplus running. The 1920 model had been on its last lug when he had acquired it at an exceptionally good price. The motorcycle had been in such bad shape that the previous owner had all but given it to Hermod. The Norseman had been so excited to have the bike that he started working on it the second he got it home.
He had tweaked and tuned the motor until he had it running smoother and better than any that had ever come out of the Indian factory. He had heard that someone had supposedly gotten a Powerplus to go almost up to 80 miles per hour. That was well faster than the 60 miles per hour that the brochure. And that was all well and good, but Hermod’s goal was to go over 100. He was confident that he had made all the necessary adjustments to the bike to do just that.
The messenger brought his vamped up bike to Black Rock Desert ready to give it a test run. He hoped this spot wasn’t as crowded as the Salt Flats had been recently. He was never trying to impress anyone or set any records, so he had no need for an audience. Hermod just loved to go fast. Sure, he could run faster than any mortal-made machine, but these new aged motorcycles – like horses – gave him a rush he never got from running.
As he rode the motorcycle across the desert – not yet actually trying for speed – he was pleased to see that it was almost completely deserted. All he saw was one car waiting to make its own run. He thought it might be fun to maybe trade ideas with someone, so he rode up to the car. He just hoped the other guy wasn’t one of those ultra-secretive types that kept a tarp over their engine so no one could see how he had tuned his car.
It wasn’t until he stopped the Indian beside the car that he saw that the other guy was a girl. It was too late now for him to just leave now. That would be rude. He would just have to do his best and try hard not to make a fool of himself.
“Um, hi,” Hermod said, giving the girl a smile (and hopefully not blushing). “Uh, nice day for a run, huh? Not to hot.”