Bicycle Mechanics - Everyday stuff

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site and to road biking. I've been riding (no, lugging, that is) an old specialized mountain bike for a while, and just splurged on a new Giant OCR1 (love it! - had my first ride today - what a difference)
I've been to parktool.com, which will help with repairs, but would love some advice on daily maintenance so I can avoid costly repairs in the future. ie: is there anything I should be checking/doing after/before every ride?
Your thoughts are much appreciated!

Check tire pressure before every ride. Clean the bike frequently -- keeps it looking good, and the visual inspection is lagniappe.

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site and to road biking. I've been riding (no, lugging, that is) an old specialized mountain bike for a while, and just splurged on a new Giant OCR1 (love it! - had my first ride today - what a difference)
I've been to parktool.com, which will help with repairs, but would love some advice on daily maintenance so I can avoid costly repairs in the future. ie: is there anything I should be checking/doing after/before every ride?
Your thoughts are much appreciated!

A few things come to mind -

Pre-ride:
Check air pressure
Check tire surface for damage/embedded items
Check wedge pack for necessary ride items (CC, cash, tire levers, tube, etc.)
Spin wheels, check for true
Check brakes
Inspect running gear, check for damage/wear

Post-ride:
Check tire surface for damage/embedded items
Spin wheels, check for true
Wipe frame with damp rag
Inspect running gear, check for damage/wear

Periodically:
Detail bike. I like to use a spray-on automotive wax every now and then on frame/painted parts.
Clean chain and cassette
Clean wheel braking surfaces
Check for play in moving parts/bearing surfaces
Check shifter/brake adjustments

take care of any noises that creep up. find them and fix them. do not ingnore them.

thanks for the feedback! One question for bigbossman:
"Spin wheels, check for true"
what do you mean by 'true'?
(I'm sure I am revealing my novice to the road bike world!)

Before I ride, I spin the wheels and make sure the rims aren't touching the brake pads. If they are, is it because

a) the brakes need a little tweaking to center the pads (most likely)

or

b) the wheel has gone out of true (unlikely). This means the wheel is no longer straight, and the rim wobbles as it spins. If it wobbles more than a couple of millimeters, you'll want to fix it.

The Park Tools web site is great for how-to info, as is a book called "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Repair." There's a new edition out this year.

Have fun!