Originally Posted by habilis

Does this mean spraying the bike with a garden hose? If so, you likely have rust inside every enclosed space, including shifters and cable housings. As others have said, you can restore operation by flushing with WD-40, but you should follow it with light machine oil. Tilt the bike so that cable ends point upward, and drip oil into the end of the housing. Hope that it eventually runs through the housing. Even badly rusted cables can be made operable this way. However, it's far better to keep water and detergent cleaners away from internal parts and chains.