I was desperate for a change of pace. The way my wife and I were living our lives was exhausting.
Both worked full time and just had a kid. It was constant go go go go. Drop the kid off at daycare. Go to work. Pick kid up from daycare. Run errands. Go home and perform chores. We both were going a mile a minute and exhausted trying to obtain the perfect american lifestyle. Eventually after she was diagnosed with a mental disorder my wife found a part time job working at night and on the weekends. We cut back and took our son out of daycare. That helped quite a bit. Then my car was totaled and I took up cycling to work. Now I am much more relaxed, weigh quite a bit less, and actually have time to ponder life (usually while cycling).
I usually take my son on recreational bike rides on the weekend instead of running to this and from that.
All in all cycling and some drastic life changes probably just added a few years onto my life span.