You've got to do what suits YOU. Just because someone here gets up at 5 am and hits the road by 5:15 am, and another person doesn't leave camp till 11 am, doesn't mean that you have to do either of those options.
Touring doesn't need to be that different from YOUR normal life, unless you really want it to be different.
What time do you usually get up to go to work? Do you like getting up then or would you rather sleep an extra hour or so? Are you the type of person who likes to linger over coffee and breakfast before going to work, or do you prefer to wait till you get to work before you have your coffee and breakfast? What do you do for lunch now? Do you bring sandwiches, or do you go out to cafes? When do you finish work? Do you like finishing work at that time? Would you prefer to finish work earlier and be able to do more with your evening?
My personal ideal in my working and touring life would be to sleep till about 8 am on the days I work (working life) or on the days we're packing up and moving on (touring life), and later on the days we're staying around that spot for a while. I'd like to arrive at work or leave the campsite somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00. I don't like lingering over coffee and breakfast so I'd prefer to pack up and hit the road without all of that, and then stop for breakfast an hour or so up the road. I bring sandwiches etc. to work most days, and on a tour, I prefer to buy the fixings for sandwiches at a shop rather than going to a cafe, although the occasional cafe meal is all right. In an ideal world I'd be finishing up my work day somewhere between 4 and 5 pm, and that's about when I'd like to arrive in a campsite.
On a cycling tour, I also like to stop and see stuff along the way rather than just riding, and riding, and riding. So for me, I've discovered that I prefer shorter daily distances.
But you might be quite different, and if you're travelling with someone, you and your partner will have to adjust your preferences.
As for bicycle security ... I used to be fairly relaxed and trusting about it. But no more. Not since Machak, my Marinoni Ciclo was stolen on Easter Sunday during a Hub-and-Spoke tour.