Thanks for all the replies -- It's good to see the variety of thoughts on this and some of them made me laugh out loud.
This isn't what I'd call a "pedway" -- it's a wide, (probably eight feet or so) crushed limestone path that is intended for cyclists and walkers to share. It's a trail in the suburban/rural areas; not a sidewalk.
What was remarkable to me the other day is that this happened not once but twice where cyclist B did the wrong thing. In one situation, I was cyclist A and assumed that B wouldn't do it but, well, I was wrong and he decided that the silver-haired walkers were more-or-less gates on their personal slalom course. In the second, I was actually behind cyclist B and sensed that he was going to do the wrong thing but didn't say anything. Cyclist A did the right thing which, in this case, was to utter a single word to let cyclist B know what orifice he resembled.
As cyclist A, I hesitate to move over to give B room lest that encourages him/her to make the dumb move. I probably should though.
As cyclist B, I always slow down and wait for the other cyclist to pass and try to stay well behind the walkers to keep from spooking them ('cause that happens and for good reason). However,
it's excruciating when cyclist A slows down and I have to practically stop to wait for them to pass.
This picture with people across the path will give you a sense for how wide it is...
