Dennis, I believe Kevin's background includes a master's degree in physics; I am largely self-educated, having been to college only to do research and teach.
You seem to be moving smartly along the path of self-education, and you write with the clarity of a mind that is in no danger of rusting from disuse. I love the image of a truck driver keeping a book called "Physics for Technology" in the cab to read during breaks and waiting periods. Only in America. Alexis de Toqueville would have loved it.
I think the Britten fork is in fact very similar to the one I suggested to Dick O'Brien many years ago.
Probably the best material for a mass-produced version of the Britten-type fork would be aluminum. The right and left leg halves could be pressed from heavy-gage sheet, then assembled over spools providing attachment points for the axle and brake calipers and finally welded along the seams. Both legs would then be welded to forged aluminum cross pieces similar to today's typical triple-clamps.
Actually, it would be better to use only the bottom "triple clamp," and to bring the two legs together to a single point at the top. But I think maintaining a fairly conventional look would be good from the standpoint of acceptance by average riders.
The most valued book in my library is the "Highspeed Internal Combustion Engine," written by the late Harry Ricardo. Unfortunately, this book has been out of print for years. You might be able to find a copy through one of New York's used book stores.
The Society of Automotive Engineers has a wealth of books and technical papers, which they make available to non-members -- though at a slightly higher price. You can contact them by writing to their offices at 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001, or by calling 412-776-4841. Ask to speak to someone in Publications.
Also, educate yourself in mathematics if you have not already done that. You can get by without calculus, which is much less useful now that we have computers, but you had better have basic competence in algebra and trig'. Yes, of course math is boring, but there's an awful lot in the technical literature you will not be able to fully understand unless you can find your way around inside an equation.
About being 29 and about to become 30: I can barely remember being that young; what I do remember about it was being "carded" when I went into a liquor store to buy a bottle of scotch whiskey on the occasion of my 30th birthday.
On my 50th birthday, now long behind me, friends presented a cake that said, "Against all odds," which probably summed up my life fairly well. When you've been reported dead, twice, and none of your friends thought it necessary to check to see if the news was true, you have to figure you have been strolling a little close to the edge.
Let me offer you some comfort about the accretion of years: If you live a long time and pay attention, you'll know a whole bunch of useful things; and you'll find, in time, that old go-fast guys have no wrinkles on the inside.