A Bike Ride Across 12 Historical Water Reservoirs (Tajchs) Summers have been getting ridiculously hot in recent years—so hot that you start to wonder if you’re training for a spot in a pizza oven. That’s why, whenever I can combine a cycling trip with a good swim, I’m all in! This year, I kicked off our annual MTB adventure with a mission: visit as many tajchs as possible (and swim in most of them!). Now, for the uninitiated, tajchs are historic reservoirs built centuries ago by ingenious miners in central Slovakia. These marvels of engineering not only powered the mining industry back in the day but now double as scenic spots for swimming, fishing, and lazing around. Basically, they’re Slovakia’s hidden gems—and I was determined to make a splash in as many as possible. But let me rewind. Our annual adventure is a tradition: three buddies from Košice, exploring a new corner of