I've been off of the bike since late September, when I left my job to complete some coursework. I returned to work last month but have yet to return to bicycle commuting, hopefully that will happen next month. In any case, I was working on my commuter the other night and noticed several maintenance-related things that I had neglected. While changing tires and tubes both of my dropout adjusting screws broke, getting stuck in the frame, this was probably due to rust. Between drilling them out and filing them down, I was able to remove one, but the other is still in the frame although it shouldn't interfere with alignment of the wheel. I also went to replace my bottom bracket and it was incredibly hard to remove. After using Liquid Wrench I was able to remove and replace it after some time, but this was much harder than it should have been. In addition, my brake cables and pads were grinding, the chain was a mess, both tires had multiple holes in them, and most bolt heads had significant surface rust. The point is, although this bike has been ridden, year-round, on/off road, in all weather conditions, on salt treated surfaces, etc, I had always been very meticulous about regular maintenance as I relied heavily on this bike each day. Since that stopped I guess it was easy to overlook this maintenance and things seized with rust and grime very quickly. To give an idea, in a year I would typically go through: 2/3 sets of brake pads, 1 set of tires, 1 chain, and 1 cassette. I would, on average, replace my bottom bracket, chain rings, and cables every 1 to 2 years. Even excluding the replacing of parts I regularly cleaned/lubed the chain, removed and re-greased the bottom bracket 2 to 3 times a year, de-rusted bolt heads, checked tightness of all fixing bolts, adjustments, replaced bar tape, etc. It's amazing how reliable this bike has been, as a daily commuter, for the last 12 years, but that reliability is significantly jeopardized by taking maintenance for granted (or, ignoring it completely). So, as I get ready to return to commuting I'll be conscious to return to the same level of vigilance and daily maintenance I had before.