After encountering a black bear on my evening ride a few nights ago (first time since I started biking regularly back in 2014 lol) I decided that mayyyyybe I should carry my can of bearspray with me until winter sets in (which coincidentally is when the can expires).

*backstory*

About 30' in front of me I saw a rather large shadow book it across the trail in front of me and dive off into the nearby bushes.

"There's no way I saw what I thought I just saw..."

I clicked on my helmet light and panned around a bit and spotted a rather large black bear about 6 feet off the ground up a nearby tree. We exchanged longing glances of "Free Hugz?!" before I verbally greeted Yogi III and detoured down an adjacent trail. I knew there was one in the area, but I didn't expect to meet him face to face!

*/backstory*

I know you can buy these, but if you have a hacksaw and a sander it's cheaper to make your own using a cheap (bonus points if it's old) water bottle and cutting the top off. If you do it carefully the fit between the bottle and can will form a vacuum seal which keeps the "No-Hugz-4U" firmly within it's LDPE buddy.   

...Also if you bomb downhills (I curmudgeon down them) you might want it within the frame and not on the fork!

Thanks!

I was wandering through a certain Canadian store that sells Tires and found a sleeping bag that'll compress down do 5.5" x 12.5".  While I was at it, I hit up MEC (I should just live there, lol) for a sleeping pad and compression sack and was able to fit the Bivy, Bag and pad into it.  I still need to do a test setup of the camp side of things yet, but I took it out for a test ride and the harness performed admirably. 

Sorry the pictures have a yellow tinge to them; with all the smoke coming up from that fire down in the states the sky was an amber yellow.

Still a work in progress, but I'm getting closer.  As soon as I get a lightweight and compact sleeping bag and a pad of some form I can do my first overnighter!  

Bike is a 2016 Rocky Mountain Blizzard -10
Handlebars are 20 bucks worth of steel pipe from home depot (I hate welding, but the knowhow definitely has it's perks when one wants to try something!).
The bottle cage rack on the fork is also self built and it mounts directly to the fender mounts.  (Surly guys have it easy, lol)
The bottle cages are welded aluminum Filzer cages (I modified one to fit a full sized bottle on the seat tube)
GPS is an etrex 30x (an upgrade from my old 20)
Light is a Fenix PD35 hoseclamped to the handlebar (I have a pd35 tac on my helmet)
Porcelain Rocket Vera seat pack
Porcelain Rocket MCA Handlebar System

(There's no frame bag because sometimes I'll carry my bike on my shoulder to get it up, over or around obstacles.)

Saddle is a Brooks B17 (My butt conformed to it after about a month of riding in the winter).

Not pictured, but I recently picked up an OR Alpine Bivy and I also have a 10L dry bag for under the handlebars.  

I'll try to get better pictures, but yeah.