BT Forum

Welcome to Ohio, albeit a bit prematurely.  Yes, Alum Creek is the place to go, especially if you will be living in Westerville.  As for wetsuits, it depends on your tolerance.  The water is in the mid-ish 60's right now, which is very comfortable in my opinion, but I still have a wetsuit.  Plus, you may eventually want to swim earlier or later in the season, so a wetsuit will be helpful.

As for other tips or recommendations, I'll try to think about some and add to this later.  But look up HFP Racing, Ultrafit and Greenswell.  They put on some really good local races.

Again, welcome!   

Liiving in Westerville, Alum Creek is your best bet to practice OWS, as for the wetsuit, its hit or miss at the lake, some times its cold, sometimes its like bath water

Also, check out the Central Ohio Triathlon Team and Westerville Bike Club for groups to go out training with

Welcome to Ohio

You won't need 4WD.     

ETA:  I've had AWD or 4WD on my vehicles for years and can think of only a handful of times when I've used it.  Central Ohio seems to avoid the heavier accumulations of snow in the winter.  You may get 3 or 4 days per year where the driving conditions are tough.  Having said that, I'm sure this winter we'll set all kinds of records.