bikey's rear shaft was broken?!

oh man. my bike has been having some problems with the rear wheel for some time now. i guess all that milage has taken a toll on good old bikey. but on sunday, she was really suffering very badly, rubbing the rear wheel against the frame. i finally had time to bring her down to sevice today. lo and behold. when the uncle open the rear wheel gears, he saw that the connecting shaft had split into 2! oh my. how it got broken really amazes me. to top it off, uncle claims that the shaft does not breaks so easily and is a very rare occurance. he personally has seen very few of such cases. oh my! cost me $18 to replace the shaft. i asked him about wheels and i guess he feels that i'm into biking and was trying to advice me on modification. a new set of wheels, made in france, $500+! Sorry, dun have that kind of money. ouch! maybe next time.