It took way longer than it should have, including removing the shifter from the bars, but after much gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands and shedding of tears, my bike is once again ready to ride.

I really don’t know why I break shift cables so often. I think some batches of shifters must be harder on cables, and since my rides have lots of little hills I imagine I shift very often. I use OEM cables. Who knows? Some day I will make the leap to cable free shifting.

Ultegra 6700. It’s only the rear that is the problem. Front lasts 20K miles.

Good one.

Sorry no great pics today. Forgot my phone when we went rabbiting and the ratting takes place in tunnels so there’s not much to say.

However:
1. Puppy Love and her friend Sophie the Protector flushed a rabbit today. Puppy Love was all atwitter for the next 90 minutes. Must. Find. Bunny. She looked in every clump of tall grass, in every yucca, and beneath every little shrubby bunch. High and low. Hither and yon. Over hill and dale. Very determined doxie.

2. Yesterday we practiced Junior Earthdog. Thirty feet of tunnel, 3 ninety degree turns, critter at the end of the tunnel. The dog has to navigate 10ft of sent trail over open ground make her way through the tunnel within 45 seconds, work the rat for 60 seconds and then she’s done. This was easy peasy of Puppy Love. Today we worked on Senior Earthdog. Thirty feet of tunnel, 3 ninety degree turns but also one dead end tunnel (a false den) that contains used rat bedding but not a rat, and also a second tunnel exit, and oh yeah, a 45 degree 4 inch drop into the tunnel. The dog has 45 second to get to the rat, can’t spend more than 15 second figuring out that there’s no rat at the false den, and she has to work the rat for 90 seconds. The dog can’t go in secondary tunnel exit, must follow the scent trail from the start 20 feet over open ground to the primary entrance. Then after 90seconds of working the rat, the rat age is removed and the dog must be recalled from the tunnels back to the start point. She can come out either tunnel exit/entrance this time. I have to pick her up within 45 seconds of recalling her. Ie a much harder test. She eventually got it but wow, there’s lots of ways that can go awry.

Puppy Love is the small orange dot to the right. Checking everywhere for bunnies.






Puppy Love frustrated by the bars keeping her from the rat cage.

It’s 16F out but wind is gone. Getting ready to ride.

I would upgrade to electronic shifting for $200 in a heartbeat. But I believe that’s labor. Parts are pricey. Sad!