Back in winter mode. One of the challenges of the winter commute is just keeping track of all the extra gear. One of my treasured pieces of gear is my little neoprene face mask. Boy do I like that thing. Protects the face from the wind. Anyway, it seems when I whip off my helmet to park, and head in, I have a handful of face mask, gloves, and balaclava. The little face mask tends to get dropped. Last night after class, I couldn't find the face mask. Looked in the classroom, walked all around campus. Looked in the bathroom. Nowhere. Curses. I was NOT looking forward to the eight miles home in the cold, dark and damp without that mask. I trudged out to the bike rack. There it was! Sitting on the sidewalk a few meters from the bike. I must have dropped in my rush to class. And it sat there for 3 hours, amazing. Argh. I will not let that mask out of sight again!