Replace your cables!

Sorry for the lack of posts, not that anyone noticed...

I'm finally getting fit now, after riding during the week the past 4 weeks. It's amazing how just throwing in 2 hours in the middle of the week can really help you get stronger. So last Sunday I thought it was time to do my crazy hill ride and about 1/4 of the way into it, while coming out of Gladdwynn into Conshi, my rear shifter cable snapped. I thought, I'll ride back to Manayunk via the VF trail and be on my way again in an hour. Well, here's some knowledge for you, don't ever re-shift your shifter once that cable snaps! About 2 hours later I was limping home from the cool Human Zoom shop in Manayunk b/c my shifter cable head had become jammed in the head of my shifter. They tried and tried to get it out without taking apart the shifter, but said I could leave it there over the week and they would find a way to fix it. Well considering I lived 50 minutes further away from Manayunk (sou philly yo!), that wasn't an option. So I got home and quickly made a plea for help among my cycling posse to see if anyone had a spare 10sp rear shifter and/or was able to fix my shifter. Colin (the Professor) took charge and by Monday night he had totally fixed the shifter and I'm on the road again.
There's a few things to note which bugged me out about this whole busting a cable thing.
I almost never have a mechanical and pride myself with keeping my rig clean and smooth rolling. Well, I ended up having Human Zoom check my chain, and they were like "Dude were not letting you ride home with that thing on" plus when I got home I checked my front der. cable and sure enough 1/2 of the cables had frayed and so it would have snapped on that side soon enough too. I'm now a little paranoid about my bike as the Scott CR1 frame is going on it's 3rd season, while all the DA components are just ending their first year of service. I'm pretty much at the point where it's time to get a new bike. I hate to be that way, and know that I should have replaced the cables, chain and cassette way sooner than I did...they are only a year old, plus I didn't race last year, so while they were ridden a good bit, they weren't under total abuse. I think most cyclists are always trying to legitimize the purchase of their 6th or 8th bike in their collection, but I think this time it warrants it as a $2-3k new bike is way cheaper in opportunity cost at avoiding another hospital visit than risking it. Carbon bikes are so sweet, but other than an ultrasound test, how the heck do you check to see how much life you have left in it? Steel and aluminum were so easy, you either had rust or a hairline crack before the frame was cooked, with carbon, I have no clue what happens before failure. Anyone have an idea?