Bears are even becoming a concern in NW MN. One of the rail to trail routes I have used runs right through an area where there have been several black bear sightings and it's lined with wild berry bushes and dense brush. My mid-ride snack could be equally enticing to a bear and I'd rather not meet one up close and personal, trailside while hunting raspberries. I also ride in the Maple Lake area where there have been reports of bears coming into backyards and occupied campgrounds. I don't carry bear spray but have a medium size can of 5% (2,000,000 SHU) pepper spray (range of 20+ feet droplet cone pattern) on the frame and a personal size spray (approx 10 feet in a splatter pattern) in my jersey pocket because of increasing numbers of encounters with feral or near-feral dogs along rural roads. I've had a couple of encounters with pairs or groups of three dogs exhibiting pack behavior. It's still rare, but frequent enough that I started carrying spray. I can think of two dog incidents in the past four years where I really wish I had been carrying pepper spray. I can only imagine the same situation with a bear and I don't know if my spray in a 2 oz canister would be sufficiently effective. Luckily, no grizzlies in this area.