What's interesting here is how different everyone's preferences are. I've tried fueling with straight maltodextrin and it did not sit well with me. Perhaps I would need to adapt to it. I've tried fueling with simple sugar, and while it did sit fine, I found myself feeling hungry—perhaps more quickly than if I hadn't had any fuel at all. I am convinced that I ride better on solid food. I like Clif bars in limited quantities, but after I've had five in one ride, I can't put another in my mouth—at that point, I need real food.
There was a guy who attempted to ride the TABR on liquid fuel alone—he shipped big bags of powder ahead to various post offices as drop points (you can see this in the movie Inspired to Ride). I get the impression he wound up resorting to solid food.