interesting how these things happen. wore out the derailleurs and cassette
and chain and chainrings, so was in the process of replacing them all for an
upcoming tour into the jungle in laos.

decided to shorten the rear derailleur cable housing to match exactly (at
least visually) the front housing.....pulled the gear cable from the shifter,
cable is dead, hanging on by three strands. pinched and ripped on the
inside of the shifter, but no affect on shifting. (rd pulleys worn to nubs
and the return spring stretched out).

old cable? nah, newly-installed by a bike shop mechanic about 500 km
ago. old cable got corroded in the mud and monsoon rains, managed to
limp into town, easier to let the mechanic do something so simple and
replace the lower housing at the same time.

well, found i'm out of spares in the apartment, so dug out the spare cable
from the touring kit........finally got to use the cable i've been carrying
around for 50,000 km!