I'm very much an agnostic on the "taking the lane concept". I have no objection to taking the land, and will when I fell it's appropriate, but I'm also mindful of the needs, wants, or rights of other road users and try to create passing opportunities whenever I can.

For me, there's a world of difference between taking the lane, and holding the lane. The NJ law is pretty clear on this allowing cyclists to hold the lane when moving with the flow of traffic, but requiring them to keep right otherwise, with room for discretion based on road conditions.

In my long cycling career, I've only been stopped by one officer because of my lane placement, which was well out in the lane of a twisty 2 lane road. He was miffed that I made safe passing nearly impossible, and I explained that the right side of the lane was very broken up and I was as far right as possible. Fortunately his superviser happened to pull up before we got very far in the conversation, and asked what the problem was. The officer started to explain, and before he finished, or I could get a word in, the sergeant pointed to the road and asked in classic NY terms "Where the F do you expect him to ride" (pointing to me and the road), and sent me on my way with "stay safe".

People here on BF can get very adamant about the law, or rights, but IMO it's not about that at all. It's about courtesy and getting along so everybody wins.

To the OP, it seems you had an OK cop. He had a problem, you had an explanation, and you were able to part with mutual pride and respect intact.