Bike mechanical problems

Unfortunately, I think my bike has suffered a temporary mechanical failure. It's not straightforward to explain, but basically, one of the limit screws which control how far my back tire approaches my bike frame is totally loose, and thus keeps sliding all the way into the frame despite the threads on the screw. As a result, my rear tire gets pushed right into the bike frame, and jams.

This is the same exact problem I had on triathlon day, and I suffered it again on today's attempted early morning LaGrange hammerfest bike sprints. Didn't work so well, as the moment I threw down the hammer, the tire locked. To add insult to injury, as I was descending a moderate hill to try and fix it, I popped a rear flat. And on top of the flat, the rear derailleur cable got sucked into the wheel and got totally shredded. So now I couldn't even shift, and was stuck in a fairly large gear.

I changed the rear flat out, repositioned the limit screw, but found that no matter what I did, it immediately slid right back into the frame the moment I began pedaling. In fact, it got so bad that I nearly had to walk my bike the whole way home (4 miles) in bicycle cleats. Fortunately, I got it to roll a bit by loosening the back quick release, and I rode home at basically walking pace.

I think all the rush hour traffic drivers were probably laughing as they saw me with my aerodynamic hot racing bike, riding slower than some of the runners on the path!

Bike's in the shop as we speak, and hopefully I'll hear about the damage tomorrow. I hope they can solve the limit screw problem - that was the main offender. I'm actually glad now that my road bike in NorCal doesn't have a rear-wheel cutout so I won't have to deal with these issues on it!

Addendum 9-19-09: Fortunately, my bike woes were only temporary and minor. The LBS (local bike shop) just swapped out my limiter screws for longer ones - one of the screws had failed completely. The new ones look good though, and the tire is centered. Another $20 to "true" the wheel, and another $20 for a complete cable change for the rear derailleur and I'm back to golden on the bike for under $45. Not bad!

My rear tire did suffer some damage from the rubbing though, and I had to replace it, as the sidewall had been punctured in one area (hence causing the flat I experienced.) All in all, not much damage for what could have potentially been a really ugly repair. I'm pretty happy about it and excited to get back on my wheels!