PITTSBURGH — Kevin Beck was fighting his body while trying to beat the clock.

He won both battles.

Beck, 31, a 2007 Karns City graduate, completed a bicycle ride from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., the weekend of Sept. 12 in 22 hours, 53 minutes. The trek covered 335 miles.

He completed the venture alone, setting the record for fastest time by a solo unsupported bike rider from Pittsburgh to D.C.

“That was my goal,” said Beck, who took two months to ride his bike 3,400 miles across the country in 2014. “I did some research and found that a pair of guys did it in 23:05, but they were able to take turns drafting for each other.

“This was me and me alone.”

Beck did the ride by following the Greater Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md. From there, he took the C&O Canal (Chesapeake & Ohio) to Washington, D.C.

“The entire ride was on trails, no roadways involved,” Beck said.

Beck did not sleep during the ride. He prepped for it by doing three 35-mile rides in a week, then jumping to 200 miles per week. Two weeks before the venture, he was up to 240 miles a week.

His mother, Linda Beck, was not at all surprised by this latest undertaking.

“Kevin has always been adventurous,” she said. “He ran the Pittsburgh Marathon in 2012 with very little training. He traveled to South Africa to do some surfing.

“He's always been one to challenge himself.”

Beck followed that mode by “taking on the world of endurance bicycling,” he said.

He left Pittsburgh at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning and arrived in D.C. just before 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning. He did research on nutrition as part of his preparation and got ahead of schedule early in the ride.

“I stopped twice during the first 100 miles, taking five-minute breaks,” Beck said. “My early pace was in great shape, which helped me toward the end. I was starting to fade those last three hours.”

The Greater Allegheny Passage involves gradually climbing a hill “where wind was a factor,” Beck said. He added that precipitation along the way created puddles and soft sand on the trail.

“It was a little taxing pedaling through at times,” Beck said.

There were a few water pumps along the trail, where he could stop for a drink. Among food Beck had in his backpack were granola and protein bars, dried bananas, a Rice Krispie treat and brownies.

Beck played basketball and ran track at KC.

His father, George Beck, played football and basketball for Karns City High School.

“I'm very proud of the way Kevin pushes himself,” his father said. “I was very comfortable that he could do this (bike ride). He's incredibly tough.”

Beck finished up his trek riding overnight, wearing a headlamp while doing so.

“It was tough to see,” he admitted. “That affected the pace somewhat. I was physically drained, too.”

Beck said he got into riding bicycles during his childhood “and it just stuck.”

His next step may be competitive bicycle racing. He is a software engineer by trade and now lives in Pittsburgh.

“Kevin has a wife who is extremely supportive of his ventures and that's been a big help to him, too,” his mother said.

While he may get into bike racing, his endurance rides are likely not over.

“I may return to cross country riding,” Beck admitted. “There's one where you ride from Portland to Virginia. I would be into that.”