Whether it is on two wheels or one, two legs or with help of four paws the jaunt around Lake Wendouree or through the countryside has a lot more to it than otherwise healthy exercise.

This is direct support for Ballarat's own Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute, a pioneering medical body born out of its own sad loss but with an ongoing passion for answers.

And the Cycle Classic also shows something more, that the spirit of involvement and giving back is alive and well in this city.

Ballarat may be growing and may have long qualified as a regional capital but it is no hard-hearted metropolis. People have a desire to feed back into their community both in energy and ideas.

In this spirit, this week we will also launch our subscriber-only Facebook group.

Here, we hope to create a community where people can share their thoughts, create discussions and interact with our journalists in a group designed solely for you - our subscribers.

Discussions will be moderated and are designed to be an inclusive space where you can freely express your opinion on all things relating to Ballarat.

But this is also a forum about ideas not knee-jerk criticism, a discussion of considered opinions and tempered evaluations; free of the vitriol and ill-considered attacks that have become the hallmark of social media.

Most of all it is a meeting place to discuss the place where you live and what you think will make it better.

Keep and eye out this week and be part of our first giveaway on the page.

In the meantime, because we know you love knowing what is going on in your city here is a story exclusive to subscribers about the latest developments in Lydiard Street.