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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A local cyclist began pedaling the perimeter of Pennsylvania last week in a virtual trek expected to wrap up during a fundraiser this weekend honoring the three-year battle his stepson lost to leukemia.</p><p>The event &#8212; the 16th annual Spin 4 Life &#8212; is set for Saturday at Odyssey Fitness Center on Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre. Hour-long time slots are available for people who want to join a part of Paul Zbiek&#8217;s virtual ride, a more than 1,200-mile journey expected to conclude during the event&#8217;s final hours.</p><p>Proceeds from the day-long fundraiser will be split between Candy&#8217;s Place, a cancer wellness center in Forty Fort that has organized the event since 2004, and the Brandon J. Case Memorial Fund at King&#8217;s College, where Zbiek is a professor of history and geology.</p><p>Brandon was a freshman at King&#8217;s in 1997 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin&#8217;s disease. A year later, it was discovered the teen had secondary leukemia. Despite a three-year battle that Zbiek said his stepson fought with strength and humor, Brandon died Sept. 27, 1999, two months after his 21st birthday.</p><p>&#8220;He was one the most courageous people I ever met in my life,&#8221; Zbiek recalled Monday from atop his bike. &#8220;Just a small part of that rubbed off on me and made me a better person.&#8221;</p><p><strong>&#8216;Just been wonderful&#8217;</strong></p><p>This year&#8217;s event, Zbiek said, will deviate from past years in which he biked one hour for each year Brandon would have been alive. Last year, the 65-year-old logged 37 straight hours atop a mounted stationary bike.</p><p>But the hours &#8212; and Zbiek&#8217;s age &#8212; &#8220;started getting up there,&#8221; Zbiek said with a chuckle, so he decided to take another route in honoring Brandon.</p><p>Zbiek, who lives in Plymouth Township with wife Donna, was his stepson&#8217;s adviser his sophomore year when Brandon penned a research project about the impact of the state&#8217;s highways. It was one of Zbiek&#8217;s proudest moments and &#8220;the perfect way&#8221; to honor Brandon&#8217;s memory this year.</p><p>The &#8220;Virtual Pennsylvania Perimeter Ride&#8221; kicked off Friday, and Zbiek has been logging about 130 miles per day leading up to the fundraiser. While completing the last leg Saturday, he expects to ride the equivalent of about 180 miles. He takes a two- to three-minute break every hour, he said.</p><p>A seasoned ultra-marathon cyclist with over 100,000 miles logged in the past decade alone, Zbiek said this version of Spin 4 Life has its advantages and drawbacks.</p><p>He&#8217;s not actually out there in the elements, but it&#8217;s still a grueling journey.</p><p>&#8220;The plus side is I get a good meal and a good night&#8217;s sleep every night,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The tougher thing is you have to do it every day. You have to commit to it every day.&#8221;</p><p>Zbiek never would have imagined the event would still be going strong at this point.</p><p>&#8220;To keep it going for 16 years has just been wonderful,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_web1_TTL011416spinforlife1-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Zbiek </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_web1_TTL011416spinforlife1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Zbiek </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_web1_TTL011416spinforlife5-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A scrapbook photo of Brandon Case, who died in 1999 after a three-year battle with leukemia. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_web1_TTL011416spinforlife5-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>A scrapbook photo of Brandon Case, who died in 1999 after a three-year battle with leukemia. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader file photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>IF YOU GO</strong></p><p><strong>What:</strong> 16th annual Spin 4 Life</p><p><strong>When:</strong> Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Rides start every hour. Last ride is 5 p.m. and runs for two hours.</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Odyssey Fitness, 401 Coal St., Wilkes-Barre.</p><p><strong>Cost:</strong> $25 for a 45-minute cycling ride. Price includes T-shirt, refreshments and mini-massages.</p><p><strong>Register:</strong> Go to www.cancerwellnessnepa.org or call 570-714-8800.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Plymouth Township cyclist takes on 1,200-mile trek to honor late stepson