Day 28 - Marshfield, MO

When I checked the weather this morning everything looked like I would gonna be riding trough rain all day. The radar showed a massive storm just west of me and the National Weather Service had announced a rain/flash flood warning. My hope was to make it at least to Hartville and wait there for the storm to pass.
Got on the road at 7 and except for the first climb out of a valley it wasn't too hilly which allowed me to be unusually fast.
I wanted to get some Honey Buns for breakfast at a store 30km down the road but they only had chocolate bars, so I did the 60km to Hartville without food. And without rain! The sky was dark but somehow I managed it not to get into it.
In Hartville I ordered a full stack of pancakes and coffee. Thanks to WiFi being available virtually everywhere (mentioned that before) I could check the radar again. The storm had grown, but in a away that it covered more area at less intensity. Had at least five refills and checked the radar every now and then. The pancakes were large enough to keep me busy for over an hour, with the hope the storm could pass meanwhile. Didn't happen. Eventually I gave up (with still lots of pancake remaining), paid ($3.20 !!!) and gave it a try. It was just 40km to Marshfield. I would have done the majority of the miles without rain anyways.
Long story short:
I had some single drops and a few times it started to rain but stopped within seconds. Around 2pm I arrived at today's final destination being completely dry. Considering the serious warning by NWS I was extremely lucky!
Went straight to McDonald's for calories and WiFi. Next it checked out what is the County Fairground where I'm gonna camp tonight.
By the time you read this I've ridden back to McDonald's for dinnrt and WiFi.

I'm out of the Ozarks now, actually I already was yesterday night. The rumors are true, it's a rollercoaster and by far the hardest part of the trip so far. Tomorrow I'm gonna try to make it as far as Golden City, about 140km. Last day in Missouri, Sunday I should finally enter Kansas. Have been looking forward to this state ever since I'm on the road. It's a type of landscape I haven't seen so far. Flat, straight roads for dozens of miles, cornfields as far as the eye can see, shimmering silos indicating the next town an hour before you reach it...