Okay, talked to the state patrol here in Nebraska. By law, a cyclist can ride right in the middle of the lane of the highway if they'd like, but they don't generally advise it. Basically the cyclist riding against the right side is a courtesy to motor traffic so they can get by, and you are not required to ride on the shoulder.

As far as the question about highway or road, I consider a road to be all inclusive of highways, freeways, interstates, gravel, etc, where as when I say highway, I mean a paved 2 lane road with oncoming traffic. A freeway/interstate is a divided road with controlled access.