Mrs. van den Broek went through a tough time because of vulvar cancer. A serious but also very painful condition, which made cycling impossible at first. “I thought cycling was done for me. It was my big hobby, in the summers I would cycle about 80 to 90 kilometers a day.”

A solution appeared – literally and figuratively – close at hand

After an operation it turned out that Mrs. van den Broek could no longer sit on a normal saddle without being very painful. A normal saddle gives too much resistance, causing so much pain that cycling became impossible. “Through a friend I got an app. She sent me a number of saddles with which I could possibly cycle again. One of them was an ISM saddle”.

“First I ended up with a provider from Zwolle. I did contact them, but they asked me to come by and that is quite a drive for me. So I started Googling and ended up at ISMseat.eu. This supplier also turned out to be ‘around the corner’.”

“I was in jubilant mood”

After she contacted Velopro, she was able to get her bike fixed very quickly. So a few days later she was in Dirksland with her bicycle. “I could take my bike with me so they could help me mount the bike saddle. I had a choice of five different saddles, I chose the widest saddle: the ISM Cruise saddle”. The service turned out to be excellent. For example, it explained to her what actually constitutes a good cycling posture and the differences between the pressure points of a regular saddle and an ISM saddle.

“From the moment I got on the bike I noticed an immediate difference. I was in jubilation, so happy was I! I never expected to be able to cycle again.” Beforehand she was skeptical, but once on the bike she immediately felt the difference. She says, “It was really a relief when I got on the bike. At first I thought “Yeah I guess so…”, but then you sit down and you think “Oh what a relief!”.

What would make the ISM saddle even better?

However, there is one more thing that would make the ISM saddle even better, and that is a saddle cover. “I like having a cover over it, but there isn’t one at the moment,” she says. “I bought one at a bike store right now, but it’s really just not it. This one is actually just a little too tight.”

“I hadn’t been able to ride a bike for six months, so this was really nice.”

“I can cycle pain-free again, and I’m really very happy about that. Cycling was and is a big hobby of mine. I now have one saddle for my bike that is at the campsite, but so I need another one for my bike at home. It is still a bit of a test to see if this saddle fits best, but basically there were other options available. In any case, I am already very happy with it.”