I just got started in road biking after a while riding a mountain bike and I
have some questions.

First - my bike seems quite comfortable to me and my hands naturally ride on
the hoods. But after a while - 15-20 mins or so -they start to hurt,
especially the area between the thumb and the first finger. I'm assuming
this is just because riding like this is new to me. I don't notice that I'm
putting a lot of forward pressure on the hoods - I seem to be comfortable,
but maybe I'm just not used to having something between my thumb and first
finger. Do you think this will go away after I get some time on the bike or
what? Maybe I need to build up my hands or something...

Second - after riding a mountain bike, I am kind of nervous about riding
such skinny tires. I am worried that they will slip out from under me or
something. I've ridden over the sand and stuff in the road left over from
winter and am still alive, but it gets me nervous riding over that stuff.
Last summer I wiped out on my mountain bike taking a turn too fast on a wet
road and separated my shoulder, so I guess I'm still getting over that. I
guess as I get used to my my bike that nervousness should go away? Any
comments?