The motorcyclist in me is never far from the surface, even when I’m on a (rare) non-biking holiday. We’ve been spending a few weeks in Dubai, a former stomping ground, and I’ve been surprised by the explosion of bikes on Dubai’s roads since we left – and by the dearth of bikes on Dubai’s roads!

The explosion has been caused by the massive increase in food and grocery delivery services, all courtesy of hundreds if not thousands of 125cc Hondas and their Chinese derivatives. Deliveroo is much in evidence, along with countless local versions such as Talabat, bringing a vast range of takeaways to your door. Forgotten a litre of milk? Need more bread and cereal? Order them online and a biker will deliver them in no time. It’s instant gratification on wheels – literally. The riders generally wear long-sleeved T-shirts, jeans, boots and gloves, often with strap-on metallic guards for forearms, elbows and shins. That amount of protection is an improvement on what delivery riders used to wear in 2017, which is good.

The dearth of non-delivery bikes is harder to explain. In summer, only the foolhardy venture out: we were there a couple of weeks ago and one day it was 47 degrees C. I had to ride from Dubai to Abu Dhabi once in 47-degree heat and it was very challenging, as in boil-the-blood-in-your-brain challenging. But we were also there last winter when the midday temperature is around 30 degrees C and it’s actually really nice biking weather. In three weeks last November, however, I saw six bikes beyond the 125cc army – two sports bikes of indeterminate origin, two feet-forward Harleys, the neighbour’s Sportster, and a parked Suzuki. Maybe they all gather at weekends and ride to some biker café, but otherwise the lack of bikes is puzzling.

Luxury cars, however, are in greater abundance than ever. The supermarket near my daughter’s villa, where we were staying, boasted two highly exclusive SUVs in its car park the other day: a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley. There were three Bentleys within less than half a mile on the Sheikh Zayed Road (SZR) last week, and another R-R SUV being loaded on to a low-loader from where it had broken down in the fast lane… oops!

The SZR is a massive highway that flows through the middle of Dubai, with up to seven lanes in each direction. In older, wilder times I’ve seen cars weaving in and out of the traffic at 100 mph there. Luxury shops are arranged along much if its length, selling every imaginable out-there item. Car dealerships with impressive frontages line certain sections, where you’ll see Bentley alongside Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Jaguar and all the mainstream, upmarket brands. In among them are often-sprawling showrooms for every imaginable supercar, new and used, from Bugatti to Koenigsegg. It’s literally an awesome spectacle and, if anything, that whole scene is bigger than ever.

It does give one pause for thought, especially if you’re a visitor. If you live in Dubai you get used to the abundant wealth: it just is. As a visitor, though, it’s so in your face that you can’t fail to do the odd double-take. It’s not just cars, either, but everything: the new villas being advertised at £5 million plus, the shops, the kids’ clothes, the malls, the boats – everything. Going there at a time when the pound was at a near-record low didn’t helped. It used to be six Dirhams to the pound back in my day; last November it was four, thanks to Liz Truss; this past week it was 4.3, so everything still costs the earth!

I lived in Dubai for two years and in neighbouring Abu Dhabi for six, so these past two visits have also been a bit of a nostalgia trip, too, for my wife and myself. We visited the spectacular Louvre in Abu Dhabi for the first time, having watched it rising slowly out of the sand for several years, and finished the day with dinner at Yas Links, a favourite destination across the road from Yas Marina Circuit where I worked for 18 months.

With the setting sun over the blue waters of the mangroves, the palm trees waving gently, the roof of the futuristic Yas W hotel slowly changing hue from cream to red to green, the good times came flooding back. I could even imagine riding home on our Triumph Rocket III, which took that route with me many times. I can recommend the whole Yas and Saadiyaat Island experience to anyone (there are many more attractions open these days, including a new Sea World, plus in December the impressive-looking Zayed National Museum). It may not be cheap but it’s a great experience, especially in winter.