Thanks for the referrals to the micro-touring concept. It makes a lot of sense for someone starting out in bike touring and allows them to decide if they can camp or need hotels or some other form of under-roof accommodation.
The food factor also is a big one -- cooking own food hinges much on buying fuel for heating over quite a few days, or spending much more buying sit-down meals at least once a day.
The micro-tours are a guide to time and distance potentials, and the amount of energy possibly needed to see through a day out and then another back. Hence that food factor thing. But ultimately, the time and distance potentials can be established to help realistically plan for three days, a week, a fortnight, a month or six months.