CYCLISTS COMPLETE 400-MILE CANAL TRIP.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: CLAIRE HUGHES Staff writer

Albany Nina Siegel had driven the state Thruway countless times without stopping for anything except a quick bite to eat.

Traveling from her home just outside Boston to visit family in Erie, Pa., she had seen little in the state that has piqued her interest -- from the highway.

That all changed in the past week.

The 44-year-old was one of about 300 bicyclists to complete an eight-day, 400-mile trek along the Erie Canalway Trail, ending Sunday on the Hudson River at Albany's Corning Preserve.

The trip, funded primarily by the New York State Canal Corp., has been held for four years as a way to …