Ahh the Round Taupo...http://www.cyclechallenge.org.nz/

We did it 04 and it was fun yet quite hard. I'd never biked more than 30km's prior to doing it and ended up doing the first 80km's which were the hilliest.( I did it on a team of 4 and decided after I'd cycled the first bit i'd continue on.)
The event is well organized and highly recommend it. It's HILLY...

The weather in Taupo & region is pretty unpredictable and expect wind, rain and more wind. The swim portion of th NZ Ironman held in Taupo was disrupted this year because of the weather!!!

YOu ladies in San Francisco won't find it too hard

I would love to do it again. I need to conquer the waihahahahahahha hill, laugh at the Tui (beer company in nz known for it's quirky signs) signs (one said: Remember you paid to do this! ) then marvel at the folks that do Maxi endro 640km's...

After doing the round taupo, you can venture on over to Rotorua to go mtn biking...

c