thumb p.i.p pain

ok, so i got my new road bike. i hold on to the hoods mostly when i am riding. i got a tarmac, it is fast and scary and i am not used to it! :p anyway, i now have pain in mostly my pip joint, but it radiates out to the top joint and the ball joint where the thumb connects to the rest of the hand. i know the obvious choice is to not hold on to the hoods the whole time, but, is that the only way to rid myself of this pain? i think it may also be a reach problem from when i actually do brake. haha, i am such a wuss some days on the bike, i ride the brakes a lot if i get going too fast for my comfort. oh, also, i do hair and we do massages on each client before the cut, so my hands to get to rest much. any ideas are much appreciated. thanks ladies.

Are you wearing gloves? Have you tried riding in the drops? Maybe try stretching your hand a bit before and after riding, and shake them out. If it doesn't get better, you may have a fit issue, but I think it may be temporary new bike pain.

ETA, if you think it's a brake reach issue, there are both shims for brake levers, and short reach brake levers you may want to try if you don't already have them.