Thanks for the responses everyone.  I'm going to try one of these shorter and higher stems:

http://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Degree-Handlebar-Shims-Black/dp/B002BVW4XC/ref=sr_1_3?s=cycling&ie=UTF8&qid=1356462511&sr=1-3

but I'd still like a little extra padding.  My hands have always seemed to suffer more than most peoples, even with more upright postures.  And like I said this is a fairly harsh bike (when I got my [36 spoke HD wheels][1] I noticed an immediate increase in the harshness, but I really prefer the stronger wheels).


[![From amazon link][2]][2]


  [1]: http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=506872&storeId=10053&catalogId=10052&langId=-1
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/8ByW5.png