Welcome to CanadianJeepGirls.ca
About Us
Bionic.CanadianJeepGirl also known as Terri
Terri’s story and the start of Canadian Jeep Girls
In Dec of 2009 my life was stopped in its tracks. I was in a near fatal car accident due to black ice causing me to hit an 18 wheeler/Semi-truck. I was in my little 1991 Sidekick, named my Puddle jumper. As bad as it was, that day helped me see that there is no ‘later’, there is no next year and there is no time to waste.
I had always admired the “Jeep Life”, the freedom that comes with such an interchangeable vehicle and the community that helps each other, guides each other and shares a passion that is hard to explain. You have the freedom and community of a motorcycle but you can bring your family too! I had bought my sidekick instead of a Jeep because she was cheaper to maintain and she saved on gas. I loved off-roading with her and most off-road groups didn’t mind me joining in.
I saw a convoy of Jeeps drive through my vacationing area in 1998 and told my husband “one day I will be one of them!”.
Because of my accident I pushed harder to be the woman I admired. Through surgeries, physio, therapy and sheer determination I am building myself up to be a Jeep Girl, and not wait any longer!
I bought my first Jeep in April of 2011! A beautiful 1997 Jeep TJ! With a soft & hard top, only had 2 owners and had never been offroading! She was my “Dirty Girl” and she was manual so it took a bit to build up the strength to drive her when I had broke both my legs and had had 5 surgeries to try to repair them yet they still wouldn’t heal.
I went online and could not seem to find a community or club that worked well for me. All groups were run by men. They all went camping, drinking and rig repairing which (while in a wheelchair, walking with a walker or crutches) was impossible for me. I’m not much of a drinker and there is no way I can get under my Jeep. I just didn’t feel very … included. Men and woman can love the same thing but also express themselves completely different about it!
Later I had to have my left foot amputated and a right hip replacement so switching to Automatic was very important to allow me to still drive. So, I had to give Dirty Girl up and bought a 2012 Sport Wrangler and named her #MudBeauty. I’m still in recovery, still rebuilding and have no personal income other than what I’m able to gain from CJG products.
Tell me your story? Help me inspire others, like us, needing to feel like they are included too!
