>Sounds like to me you are starting the right way. I'm not an expert, but I can do most adjustments and repairs you would pay a shop to do. I started by taking an OLD bike completely apart and putting it back together again. When I put it back together again, I adjusted things according to the directions in a book I got from the library. Later I took a wheel-building class at a local bike shop. Once or twice after making a crucial adjustment (say the headset tightness), I've brought it to a bike shop and just asked them to inspect it -- not to teach me, but just to assure me it was ok. Fortunately most of those LBS people were nice.
Learning to fix your own bike will make you a lot more confident when you're on your bike. And eventually, when the time comes to replace a wheel, I would definitely recommend making one of your own, hopefully in a class. That first wheel will be frustrating and expensive, but you'll end up with a sweet wheel, not to mention a new appreciation for the magically simple engineering of a bike.
Chowderhead