Micah Ling is a freelance writer based in Salida, Colorado. See more of Micah's work on their website.
It was 1980 when Mary and Grant Morrison met in a cartography class at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Not many can attribute a few college credits to defining an entire life's path, but the moment proved pivotal for them both. After graduating two years later, they took jobs with Boulder County as map makers. Eventually, the pair began letting their other passion dictate their work—mountain biking. In time, Latitude 40 Maps was born, their own map-making company offering expertly crafted mountain biking maps drawn from first hand experience.
To further set the scene, the couple was riding mountain bikes before mountain bikes were really a thing. “I started mountain biking on a single speed in Crested Butte in 1979,” Grant says. “And Mary started in 1981. We noticed that there were no good maps of Boulder County that showed all of the trails, so we decided to make one ourselves.”