Thanks for the ideas. I have very padded gloves, but I could experiment. My hands aren't particularly small for a woman and I can comfortably reach the brakes in the drops. It's just on the hoods that I feel I have no braking power and I get the thumb pain. Also, I am totally new to road biking. I've only had the bike for one month.

So I'm still hearing that getting used to the drops is key.

How do the rest of you feel when you brake from the hoods? Do you feel like you have good stopping power?