Thanks and that's a full on urban assault vehicle you got there!!

And you're correct, as long as I can do 8.9 miles in 40 minutes I am happy. I am lucky my building has showers and whatnot but I am usually not that gross, it's very cool and dry, lo humidity in the mornings here in E Wa.

I am having a blast so far riding and wrenching. So much less stressful than driving during peak hours. Just tried to adjust my rear derailleur with mixed results! I am mechanical, just no experience with bikes.

Your comment about the forks makes me lean toward a CF disc brake fork as opposed to a better shock. I have seen CF forks for like $60 on Amazon