The '05 TDF finally kicked my butt off the couch and my wife (who has been a marathoner for a number of years) bought a pair Specialized Allez on season close out in August 2005. I intially started riding to lose weight.

After spinning all winter (on a spinning bike we got at the same time I decided to give racing a try in the spring of 2006 and was absolutely hooked after getting my butt kicked . luckily we have a series that's perfect for those trying out the sport (www.wisport.org) for the first time and looking to grow as a rider/racer.

Saw much improvement in my skills in 2007 (I think, anyway) but my wife beat me in a TT at the end of the season with a long climb (too much fat on Natie makes that happen on hilly courses). She's enjoyed those bragging rights thus far this winter.

It's changed my life in ways I can't describe. It's reduced my inactivity and correlating excess of fat; given me something to look forward to everyday (riding) and every weekend (racing); I've seen more of Wisconsin in two years of racing than I saw in the previous six years of living here; and I found a sport that for the better part of two years I was able to finish ahead of my wife, LOL.
Oh, and we spend more time together now in the car going to races and on the bike riding...

Add all that together and I'm a much more focused, diciplined (and this means eating a much as anything else), and driven person than I was before.